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B.F.JOHNSON 


* 

LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 

Class 

- 

i 

Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/agricultureitsfuOOsoulrich 


Woods  in  Spring — Dogwood  in  Blossoi 


AGRICULTURE 

ITS  FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES 


BY 
ANDREW   M.    SOULE 

^PRESIDENT   OF   GEORGIA    STATE   COLLEGE   OF  AGRICULTURE 
AND    MECHANIC  ARTS 

AND 

EDNA   HENRY  LEE   TURPIN 


*'  At  the  head  of  all  the  sciences  and  arts,  at  the  head  of  civilization 
and  progress,  stands  —  not  militarism,  the  science  that  kills,  not  com- 
merce, the  art  that  accumulates  wealth  —  but  agriculture,  the  mother 
of  all  industry,  and  the  maintainer  of  human  life."  —  Garfield 


^f    THE 

UNIVERSITY 

Of 


B.    F.   JOHNSON    PUBLISHING   COMPANY 

ATLANTA  RICHMOND  DALLAS 

/I  *1 


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'^mHAL 


Copyright,  1907, 
By  B.   F.  JOHNSON  PUBLISHING  CO. 


A//  rights  reserved. 


10-5-3e--e.P. 


PREFACE 

A  FEW  years  ago  the  study  of  agriculture  was  introduced  into  common  schools  as 
an  experiment;  now,  in  most  states  it  is  on  the  list  of  required  studies  —  a  place  to 
which  its  importance  well  entitles  it.  The  subject  is  as  interesting  and  as  teachable 
as  it  is  important,  dealing  in  a  practical  way  with  the  elementary  principles  of  many 
sciences. 

The  purpose  of  teaching  agriculture  is  not  to  make  a  farmer  of  each  child,  any 
more  than  the  purpose  of  teaching  literature  is  to  make  an  author  of  each  one.  The 
study  is,  however,  especially  useful  to  children  who  will  some  day  be  men  and  women 
with  good  farms  to  maintain  or  poor  ones  to  improve.  The  knowledge  of  the  forces 
and  laws  which  control  plant  and  animal  development  raises  the  daily  round  of  farm 
tasks  from  drudgery  to  intelligent  labor.  As  labor  is  better  informed,  it  is  better 
directed;   it  brings  larger  returns  in  dollars  and  in  happiness. 

The  aim  of  this  book  is  so  to  state  the  scientific  facts  and  principles  which  under- 
lie the  processes  of  agriculture  that  they  will  be  intelligible  and  interesting  to  young 
people.  These  principles  are  stated  briefly  but  clearly;  illustrations  and  examples 
are  drawn  from  common  crops  and  methods.  The  constant  effort  is  to  bring  the  stu- 
dent in  contact  with  nature,  to  have  him  observe  for  himself  how  plants  live  and 
develop  under  various  conditions,  to  learn  by  these  observations  and  by  simple  ex- 
periments the  relation  of  the  soil  and  its  elements  to  crop  growing,  and  to  understand 
how  the  processes  of  nature  may  be  influenced  and  aided  by  man.  By  means  of  the 
experiments  described  and  suggested,  every  student  can  use  to  advantage  the  great 
laboratory  of  nature. 

It  is  believed  that  the  full  experiments  and  exercises  on  every  topic,  the  orderly 
arrangement  of  subjects,  the  clear  chapter  outlines,  and  the  full  index  make  this  book 
especially  valuable  for  class-room  use.  The  appendix  supplies  useful  tables  and  sug- 
gestions for  supplementary  study  of  special  subjects.  No  pains  has  been  spared  to 
make  the  illustrations  really  illustrate  the  text,  and  thus  add  to  the  value  as  well  as  to 
the  attractiveness  of  the  book. 

The  authors  and  publishers  desire  to  make  acknowledgment  to  the  Department 
of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.C.,  for  the  use  of  numerous  illustrations  belonging  to  it. 
For  photographs,  information,  and  other  assistance,  thanks  are  due  to  Professor 
W.  B.  Alwood,  Miss  S.  B.  Sipe,  to  many  persons  connected  with  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  and  to  the  directors  of  various  State  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations. 

216051 


SUGGESTIONS    TO    TEACHERS 

1.  Discuss  with  pupils  the  topic  assigned  for  study  in  the  text-book,  so  as  tc 
excite  their  interest. 

2.  Collect  beforehand  materials  needed  for  experiments  to  illustrate  each  topic 

3.  Ask  pupils  to  perform  experiments  and  bring  specimens  to  illustrate  the  sub 
ject  under  discussion. 

4.  Encourage  pupils  to  observe  good  and  bad  methods  of  farming;  make  witl 
them  excursions  to  observe  special  crops  and  methods. 

5.  Have  a  school  garden  and  make  use  of  it  for  experiment  and  illustration 
Each  child  should  work  in  the  garden,  and  if  possible  each  one  should  have  a  plo 
for  the  care  of  which  he  is  responsible. 

6.  Write  to  your  State  Agricultural  P^xperiment  Station  for  information  anc 
bulletins,  and  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  bulletins  and  seeds. 

7.  In  addition  to  the  text-book,  each  pupil  should  have  a  notebook,  in  vvhicl 
he  keeps  a  neat  pen-and-ink  record  of  experiments,  of  work  in  school  garden,  anc 
of  supplementary  work  and  reading. 

8.  Each  pupil  should  have  also  a  drawing  book,  a  hard  pencil,  a  soft  pencil,  anc 
an  eraser.  He  should  illustrate  each  topic  as  fully  as  possible  with  copies  from  pic 
tures  and  with  drawings  from  objects.  This  exercise  teaches  habits  of  careful  anc 
accurate  observation. 

9.  For  work  in  the  garden,  each  child  needs  a  light  hoe  and  a  ten-  or  twelve 
tooth  rake,  and  a  string  with  which  to  lay  off  straight  rows. 

10.  In  performing  experiments  to  illustrate  the  text,  the  teacher  will  find  the  follow 
ing  articles  useful:  an  alcohol  lamp,  three  straight  larhp  chimneys,  three  small  glasi 
tubes  of  different  sizes,  a  set  of  iron  soil  sieves,  two  grain  sieves,  a  dozen  six-inch  flowei 
pots  with  saucers,  three  thermometers,  an  eight-ounce  graduated  glass,  blue  Htmu: 
paper,  a  dozen  heavy  glass  tumblers,  a  dozen  large-mouth  bottles,  seeds  and  cutting! 
of  common  plants,  a  collection  of  crop  plants  and  weeds  and  insects,  and  the  fev 
chemicals  mentioned  in  the  text.  If  these  articles  are  unavailable,  the  teacher  neec 
not  be  discouraged.  Common  seeds  and  plants,  some  bottles,  wooden  and  pasteboarc 
boxes,  and  old  tin  cans  furnish  material  for  interesting  experiments. 


CONTENTS 

PACK 

Outline  of  Chapter  One 7 

Chapter  One.  —  The  Soil 

Formation  of  the  Soil ^ 

Farm  Soils 16 

Soil  Moisture 22 


Soil  Ventilation 


27 


Soil  Temperature 28 

Composition  of  the  Soil 29 

Outline  of  Chapter  Two 33 

Chapter  Two.  —  The  Plant 

From  Seed  to  Seed •••35 

Differences  in  the  Parts  of  Plants .46 

Plant  Food 54 

Plant  Reproduction  from  Buds 58 

Transplanting 62 

Plant  Reproduction  from  Seeds  .         .         . 65 

Plant  Improvement 73 

Outline  of  Chapter  Three 77 

Chapter  Three.  —  Soil  Improvement 

General 81 

Drainage 86 

Irrigation '       ....  90 

Tillage 93 

Crop  Rotation     .         .         . .  100 

Green  Manures  ;   Legumes  and  Soil  Inoculation 108 

Stable  Manure 112 

Commercial  Fertilizers         .         .         . I15 

Outline  of  Chapter  Four 123 

Chapter  Four.  —  Field,  Orchard,  and  Garden  Crops 

Crop  Raising 127 

Forage  Crops 133 

Corn,  Wheat,  and  Other  Cereals I40 

Cotton,  and  Other  Fiber  Plants 153 

5 


6  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Tobacco i6o 

Sugar-producing  Plants 164 

The  Orchard  and  its  Care 166 

The  Vegetable  Garden 176 

The  Flower  Garden 184 

Outline  of  Chapter  Five 189 

Chapter  Five.  —  Crop  Enemies  and  Friends 

Weeds 191 

Fungous  Diseases 198 

Insect  Enemies   .         .     "    ,         .    ' 208 

Insect  Friends 221 

Birds 224 

Outline  of  Chapter  Six 231 

Chapter  Six.  —  Domestic  Animals 

Stock  Raising 235 

Cattle .  245 

Horses 254 

Sheep 258 

Goats 262 

Hogs 264 

Poultry 268 

Bees 274 

Outline  of  Chaffer  Seven 277 

Chapter  Seven.  —  Miscellaneous 

Trees 275 

Farm  Tools 285 

Good  Roads 291 

The  Help  of  Science .  298 

School  Gardens 301 

Appendix 

Mixing  Fertilizers        .         . 305 

Formulas  for  Spraying  Preparations 306 

Average  Digestible  Nutrients  in  American  Feeding  Stuffs  .         .         .         •  3°^ 

Feeding  Standards 30c 

List  of  Farmers' Bulletins 3^^ 

State  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations        .         ,         .     '    .         .         .         '3^' 

Index c        . 31; 


OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  ONE 

THE   SOIL 

Uses  of  Soil: 

Root-hold  and  home  for  plant 
Storehouse  for  water,  air,  heat,  and  plant  food 
Soil  Makers: 
Heat  and  cold 
Atmosphere 
.Water: 

Vapor,  rain,  dew,  frost,  snow,  and  ice 
Living  forms : 

Bacteria,  fungi,  mosses,  higher  plants 
Earthworms,  ants,  higher  animals 
Classes  of  Soil: 

Sedentary,  or  in  place 
Transported,  or  carried: 
By  wind 
By  water 

Alluvial,  by  streams ;  drift,  by  glaciers 
Farm  Soils: 
Sandy 
Clay 
Loam 
Limestone 
Soil  Moisture : 
Uses  of  water: 

Supplies  plant  food 
Dissolves  and  carries  plant  food 
Sources  of  loss : 

Percolation,  or  passing  through  soil  spaces 

7 


8  AGRICULTURE 

Evaporation,  or  changing  from  a  liquid  state  to  a  vapor 
Transpiration,  or  giving  out,  as  vapor,  from  leaves 
Lack  supplied  by  irrigation 
Excess  removed  by  drainage 
Soil  Ventilation: 
.     Uses  of  air : 

Supplies  oxygen  to  plant  roots 
Supplies  carbon  dioxide  for  chemical  processes 
Evils  of  under- ventilation 
Evils  of  over- ventilation 
Soil  Temperature : 
Warmth  needed  for: 
Germination  of  plants 
Growth  of  plants 

Chemical  processes  and  work  of  bacteria 
Soil  warmth  affected  by: 
Slope  of  land 
Nature  of  soil 
Moisture 
Soil  warmed  by: 
Drainage 
Tillage 
Manures 
Composition  of  Soil: 
Some  metalhc  elements: 
'  Iron,  calcium,  m.agnesium,  potassium,  sodium,  aluminium 

Some  non-metalHc  elements : 

Silicon,  sulphur,  phosphorus,  chlorine,  carbon,  oxygen,  hydro- 
gen, nitrogen 


AGRICULTURE 

CHAPTER   ONE 

THE    SOIL 

FORMATION  OF  THE   SOIL 

Soil.  —  We  are  now  to  consider  the  processes  by  which  Nature 
brings  forth  harvests  from  the  soil,  and  the  ways  in  which  man  can 
aid  and  direct  her  work. 

What,  in  the  first  place,  is  the  soil? 

It  is  the  thin  layer  of  surface  earth  which  covers  our  globe. 
It  is  composed  of  fine  particles  of  rock,  mixed  with  matter  formed 
by  the  decay  of  plants  and  animals.  Its  thickness  is  measured 
by  feet,  often  by  inches.  Below  it  for  many  miles  extends  the  solid 
earth-crust. 

Probably  you  are  familiar  with  some  place  where  a  river  or  road 
has  cut  its  way  through  a  hill.  There  you  can  examine  the  layers 
of  the  earth-crust.  On  the  top  you  find  grass  or  weeds  or  trees. 
Below  that  is  the  soil,  which  is  generally  dark  in  color ;  gradually 
this  changes  into  the  subsoil,  which  is  harder  and  usually  lighter 
colored.     Under  that  there  is  a  layer  of  rock. 

Importance  and  Uses  of  Soil.  —  Compared  with  the  size  of  the 
earth,  the  soil  is  no  more  than  a  film  of  dust  on  an  orange.  Yet  it 
is  this  film,  this  surface-layer,  this  earth-dust,  which  gives  us  the 
fragrant  beauty  of  the  rose,  the  grateful  shade  of  the  oak,  the  whole- 
some food  of  the  corn.     Without  it,  plant  and  animal  hfe  could  not 

9 


10  AGRICULTURE 

exist.  It  supplies  a  root-hold  and  home  for  plants.  It  is  a  store- 
house for  the  water,  air,  and  heat  which  they  need.  It  is  a  manu- 
factory, too,  in  which  forces  and  organisms  are  at  work  changing 
matter  into  forms  that  plants  can  use  for  food. 

Formation  of  Earth-crust.  —  Have  you  ever  considered  how  the 
soil  was  formed  ?  We  are  told  that  long  ago  the  earth  was  a  fiery 
mass  of  matter  whirling  through  space.  Gradually  it  cooled,  and 
as  it  cooled  it  hardened  into  a  sphere,  or  round  body.  Its  surface 
was  a  crust  of  solid  rock,  surrounded  by  heavy  acid  vapors. 

Bare  and  lifeless  as  a  ball  of  iron,  it  whirled  through  space. 
There  was  no  foothold  for  the  tiniest  plant,  no  home  for  the  hum- 
blest insect.  Then  God  set  His  servants,  the  forces  of  nature,  to 
work  to  make  the  barren  rock  an  abode  for  plants  and  animals. 
Many  agencies  worked,  singly  and  together. 

Heat  and  Cold.  —  First,  there  were  heat  and  cold.  As  you 
know,  heat  causes  most  substances  to  expand,  or  grow  larger, 
and  cold  makes  them  contract,  or  grow  smaller.  As  the  earth- 
surface  cooled,  the  rock  contracted,  cracked,  and  broke,  forming 
elevations  and  depressions,  or  hills  and  valleys.  The  cold  con- 
densed the  heavy  acid  vapors  surrounding  the  earth  and  they  de- 
scended in  rain.  Continents  rose,  small  at  first,  but  increasing  in 
size  as  the  earth-crust  shrank  and  cracked.  The  waters  flowed  in 
streams  through  narrow  valleys  and  in  deep  ones  formed  lakes, 
seas,  and  oceans. 

Atmosphere.  — The  atmosphere,  or  air  and  gases  and  vapors 
around  the  earth,  worked  slowly  but  constantly.  It  crumbled  the 
earth-surface  and  bore  the  rock-dust  from  one  place  to  another. 

Water.  —  The  greatest  part  of  the  soil-making,  however,  was  done 
by  water  in  its  various  forms  —  vapor,  rain,  dew,  frost,  snow,  and 
ice.  As  a  gas,  a  hquid,  and  a  solid,  it  worked  and  is  still  working. 
During  those   early   days   water   was   busy,  —  rain  and  streams 


Permission  of  Forestry  Service 


Water  at  Work 
The  Rapids  of  the  Catawba  River  in  North  Carolina. 


12 


AGRICULTURE 


Lichens  on  a  Rock 


wearing  down  the  rocks,  ice  breaking  them,  frost  crumbling  them, 
making  the  particles  fine  and  ever  finer. 

Fungi,  Lichens,  and  Mosses.  —  Even  before  the  rocks  were 
ground  and  crumbled,  there  arose  simple  forms  of  vegetable  lifC; 

fun'gi,  lichens,  and  mosses. 
They  drew  some  food  from 
the  air,  and  dissolved  and 
absorbed  other  food  from 
the  rock.  Their  decay  add- 
ed to  the  rock-dust  the 
material  gathered  from  the 
air.  This  formed  soil.  It 
was  poor  and  shallow  at 
first,  able  to  nourish  only 
fungi,  mosses,   and  other   simple  forms  of  life. 

But  countless  generations  of  low  forms  of  plants  and  animals 
deepened  and  enriched  the  soil.  Higher  and  yet  higher  forms 
succeeded.  Untiringly,  unrestingly,  worked  the  forces  of  nature, 
so  slowly  that  at  the  end  of  a  year  or  a  century  little  advance 
was  visible,  but  so  surely  that  the  earth  became  a  fair  garden 
spot,  rich  in  vegetable  and  animal  life. 

Classes  of  Soils.  —  According  to  their  origin,  soils  are  divided 
into  two  classes,  sed'en  ta  ry  and  trans  port'ed. 

Sedentary  Soils.  —  Sedentary  soils,  or  soils  in  place,  are  those 
that  rest  upon  the  rock  from  which  they  were  formed.  The  soil 
differs  from  the  rock  in  being  fine,  loose,  and  porous,  so  as  to 
admit  air,  water,  and  roots.  It  is  crumbled  rock,  subjected  to 
the  action  of  plant  and  animal  organisms  and  mixed  with  matter 
formed  by  their  decay. 

Transported  Soils.  —  But  all  soils  do  not  rest  upon  the  rocks 
from  which  they  were  formed.    Many  have  been  transported,  or 


THE   SOIL 


13 


carried,  and  deposited  hundreds  of  miles  from  the  parent  rock. 
The  two  chief  soil-transporters  are  wind  and  water. 

Wind  as  Soil-transporter.  —  Probably  you  have  seen  snow 
whirled  along  and  heaped  up  by  a  gust  of  wind.  In  the  same  way 
the  winds  gather  up  soil  and  bear  it  along  wherever  it  is  loose 
and  unprotected  by  vegetation.       In  the  Desert  of  Sahara  there 


Sand  Hills  in  the  Desert  of  Sahara  . 

are  sand  drifts  larger  and  deeper  than  snowdrifts  ever  are  in  New 
England.  Wind  shifts  sand  on  the  seashore  and  along  the  lakes, 
but  it  is  not  an  important  soil- transporter  in  many  parts  of  our 
country. 

Water  as  Soil-transporter. — The  world's  great  soil-transporter 
is  water.  The  rain  is  constantly  carrying  soil  from  hills  to  val- 
leys. Streams  are  constantly  bearing  it  along  and  depositing  it 
on  their  banks.  Have  you  noticed  a  brook  after  a  sudden  summer 
shower?  The  water,  usually  as  clear  as  crystal,  is  dark  with  mud; 
it  rushes  along,  bearing  particles  of  soil  and  even  gravel  and  stones. 

Suppose  you  take  a  glassful  of  this  muddy  water  and  let  it 
stand  a  few  hours.    The  water  will  be  clear  again,  but  at  the 


14  AGRICULTURE 

bottom  of  the  glass  will  be  a  sediment  of  mud.     This  is  soil  which 
the  rain    washed    down   into   the    brook.    The   amount    in    one 

glass  of  water  is  small,  but 
think  how  much  the  brook  and 
all  the  other  streams  transport. 
Where  a  rolling  field  is  un- 
drained  and  badly  tilled,  every 
rain  steals  some  of  its  fertil- 
ity; later  you  will  learn  how 
A  farmer  can  protect  his  land 

Ontneleft  is  a  glass  of  muddy  water;  on     agamst    SUch    thcftS. 
the  right  is  the  same  a  few   hours   later,  Alluvial  Soils. —  Streams  bear 

showing  sediment.  i  .      ^i 

down  to  the  ocean  a  vast  amount 
of  soil,  but  far  less  than  they  get  from  the  hillsides.  Like  greedy 
children,  they  take  more  than  they  want  and  have  to  leave  part. 
They  drop  it  in  shallows  and  leave  it  along  the  banks.  This 
material,  deposited  by  water,  forms  al  lu'vi  al  soils.  They  are 
usually  fertile  loams,  rich  in  organic  matter. 

Egypt, '  the  gift  of  the  Nile,'  is  formed  of  soil  brought  from  distant 
mountains  by  heavy  rainfalls  and  floods.  So  Louisiana  is  the 
gift  of  the  Mississippi.  The  sediment  which  forms  its  fertile  soil 
has  been  brought  hundreds  of  miles  by  the  river.  Each  year  the 
Mississippi  carries  to  the  ocean  enough  soil  to  cover  two  hundred 
and  sixty-eight  square  miles  with  a  layer  one  foot  deep. 

Drijt  Soils.  — Most  of  the  soil  of  America  in  the  great  area  north 
of  the  thirty-ninth  parallel  is  a  transported  soil.  It  was  formed, 
not  by  streams  of  water,  but  by  gla'ciers,  or  streams  of  ice. 

^The  Glacial  Period.  — Thousands  of  years  ago,  the  climate  in  the 
region  north  of  the  equator  became  very  cold.  There  came  a  long, 
long  winter  which  destroyed  plant  and  animal  life.  Snow  fell  until  it 
was  hundreds  and  thousands  of  feet  deep.    This  formed  a  glacier, 


THE   SOIL 


15 


a  mass  of  ice  many  hundreds  of  feet  thick.  It  extended  from  the 
Arctic  regions  southward  to  central  Pennsylvania  and  from  New 
England  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  covering  two  thirds  of  North 
America.  The  glacier  moved  far  more  slowly  than  does  water, 
but  its  grinding  and  transporting  power  was  much  greater.  It 
wore  down  hills  and  filled  up  valleys.  Like  a  giant  millstone,  it 
ground  rocks  to  powder.  At  last  it  melted,  depositing  a  layer  of 
soil. 


A  Greenland  Glacier 

The  ice-mass  is  darkened  by  soil  and  rock  waste.     The  rounded  pebbles  and  rocks  have 
been  transported  hundreds  of  miles  and  deposited  by  the  melting  glacier. 

Soils  of  the  United  States.  —The  underlying  surface  rock  of  the 
northern  part  of  the  United  States  is  chiefly  sandstone;  had  the 
soil  been  formed  from  this,  it  would  have  been  thin  and  poor. 
The  soil  formed  by  the  glacial  deposit  is  usually  deep  and  fertile, 
being  formed  by  the  grinding  and  mixing  of  a  variety  of  rocks. 


l6  AGRICULTURE 

The  soils  of  New  England  are  nearly  all  drift  or  alluvial;  those 
of  the  Southern  states  are  alluvial  or  sedentary. 

Soil  Fertility.  —  Left  to  the  processes  of  nature,  as  a  rule,  soil 
becomes  more  fertile,  more  productive,  year  by  year.  Is  this  the 
case  when  it  is  cultivated  by  man  ?  It  ought  to  be.  Good  farming 
maintains  and  increases  the  fertihty  of  soil.  This  fertility,  or 
productive  power,  is  well  termed  '  the  farmer's  capital.'  If  his 
methods  are  good,  he  preserves  and  increases  the  fertility  of 
his  land.  He  draws  a  large  interest  in  good  crops,  and  adds  to  his 
capital.  Thus  year  by  year  he  and  his  farm  are  enriched.  If 
his  methods  are'  bad,  his  crop  lessens  his  capital;  every  year  his 
farm  grows  poorer,  and  so  does  he. 

Methods  in  America.  — There  are  to-day  in  the  United  States 
thousands  of  acres  of  '  worn  out  '  land  which  fifty  years  ago  were 
cultivated  fields  and  a  hundred  years  ago  were  forests.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  are  thousands  of  acres  which  industry  and  skill 
have  reclaimed  from  barrenness  and  made  productive. 

EXPERIMENTS 

1.  Put  some  clean  stones  in  water.  Let  the  water  freeze  and  then 
expose  it  to  heat.  Repeat  several  times  and  then  examine  it.  What 
causes  the  sediment  at  the  bottom  ? 

2.  Scrape  lichens  from  a  stone.  Compare  it  with  a  freshly  broken 
rock.  Notice  how  the  lichen-covered  stone  is  marked  and  furrowed. 
Why  is  this  ? 

3.  Stir  into  a  pint  of  clear  water  as  much  clay  as  it  will  dissolve. 
Let  it  settle,  and  then  measure  the  sediment.  What  does  this  show 
as  to  the  soil-bearing  power  of  water? 

FARM   SOILS 

Let  us  examine  three  substances  which  we  may  regard  as  the 
basis  of  soils.    These  three  substances  are  sand,  clay,  and  hu'mus. 


THE    SOIL  17 

A  knowledge  of  their  properties  will  enable  us  to  understand  more 
clearly  the  characteristics,  or  natural  traits,  of  soils. 

Sand.  —  Here  is  a  piece  of  quartz.  If  you  pulverize,  or  powder 
it,  you  will  have  sand.  But  the  rock  is  so  hard  that  you  would  find 
this  difficult  to  do ;  so  we  will  fill  a  gill  measure 
with  sand,  which  is  rock  that  has  been  worn 
down  by  natural  processes.  You  observe  that 
the  sand  is  heavy,  and  that  it  consists  of  little 
hard  grains.  If  you  try  to  press  it  into  shape,  the 
dry  grains  fall  apart.  Mix  it  with  some  water, 
noticing  how  much  it  will  absorb,  or  hold.  You 
can  press  the  wet  sand  into  shape,  but  it  dries  "^^i..  -A  ^ 
quickly  and  then  falls  apart  again  if  you  han-  ^^^-i^ 

die  it.  Now  put  the  sand  into  a  glass  half  full  ^  p^^ce  of  Quartz 
of  water,  and  stir  it.  The  particles  separate  readily,  but  when 
you  stop  stirring  they  sink  quickly  to  the  bottom  of  the  glass. 
Soon  the  water  will  be  clear  again.  The  dry  sand  does  not  stick 
to  your  fingers,  and  you  can  easily  rub  off  the  wet  particles. 

Clay.  —  Now  take  a  piece  of  potter's  clay.  It  is  so  much 
softer  than  quartz  that  we  can,  without  difficulty,  grind  it  to 
powder.  Let  us  fill  a  gill  measure  with  this  powder,  and  exam- 
ine and  test  it  as  we  did  the  sand.*  We  find  that  it  is  light  in 
weight.  Instead  of  feehng  hard,  it  is  soft  to  the  touch;  that 
is  because  the  particles  composing  it  are  very  small.  If  you 
squeeze  it  in  your  hand,  it  takes  the  imprint  of  your  fingers. 
Mix  it  with  water.  You  find  that  it  absorbs  much  more  than 
did  the  sand,  and  that  you  can  mold  it  into  any  shape  you 
wish.  It  does  not  dissolve  readily  in  water,  and  when  it  does 
dissolve,  it  settles  very  slowly,  leaving  the  water  discolored  a  long 
time.  You  find  that  the  wet  clay  is  sticky,  and  even  the  dry 
clay  adheres  to  your  fingers  and  soils  them. 


i8 


AGRICULTURE 


Differences  between  Sand  and  Clay.  —  What  have  we  learned 
from  these  experiments  with  sand  and  clay  ?  We  have  found  that 
sand  is  heavier  in  weight  than  clay;  it  is  composed  of  small,  hard 
grains  which  do  not  adhere  closely;  it  holds  little  water,  settles 
quickly  in  water,  and  is  not  sticky.  We  have  learned  that  clay 
consists  of  very  small   particles  which   adhere   closely;   it  holds 

much  water,  does  not  settle  quickly 
in  water,  and  is  sticky.  These  dif- 
ferences are  largely  the  result  of  one 
thing,  a  difference  in  texture.  The 
texture  of  sand  or  clay,  like  that 
of  cloth,  depends  upon  the  size  of  its 
particles  and  their  relation  to  one  an- 
other. We  say  of  clay,  as'  of  muslin, 
that  its  texture  is  '  fine  '  and  '  close,' 
—  that  is,  its  particles  are  small  and 
near  together;  we  say  of  sand,  as  of 
bagging,  that  its  texture  is  '  coarse  '  and  ^  loose,'  —  that  is,  its 
particles  are  large  and  far  apart. 

Humus.  —  But  let  us  look  at  the  dark-colored  substance  called 
humus,  which  we  place  in  a  third  gill  measure.  Humus  is  not 
formed,  as  are  sand  and  clay,  1)y  the  breaking  down  of  rocks ;  it 
is  formed  by  the  decay  of  vegetable  matter.  You  observe  that 
humus  is  light  in  weight,  lighter  than  clay  and  much  lighter  than 
sand.  It  is  soft  to  the  touch,  because  its  particles  are  very  fine.  It 
absorbs  a  great  deal  of  water  and  dries  very  slowly.  Its  capacity 
for  absorbing  and  holding  water  and  heat  is  a  very  important  quality 
of  humus.  Although  humus  is  soft  to  the  touch,  it  is  not  sticky 
like  clay,  and  it  does  not  '  bake,'  or  dry  hard. 

Effect  of  Humus  on  Sand  and  Clay.  —  Now  let  us  divide  this 
humus  and  add  half  to  the  sand  and  half  to  the  clay.     We  find  that 


Soil  Particles,  magnified 

162  TIMES 


THE   SOIL  19 

it  modifies  the  qualities  of  both;  it  binds  together  the  particles 
of  sand  and  enables  it  to  hold  more  moisture;  it  makes  the  clay 
less  adhesive  or  sticky,  and  keeps  it  from  baking  when  it  dries. 

Farm  Soils.  —  Let  us  see  the  application  to  agricultural  soils  of 
these  facts  about  sand,  clay,  and  humus.  A  farmer  will  tell  you  that 
the  four  chief  classes  of  soils  are  sandy,  clay,  loam,  and  limestone. 
These  are  the  most  important  and  most  widely  distributed. 
Later,  you  will  learn  their  special  adaptations  to  crop  plants  and 
how  their  quahties  may  be  modified  and  improved. 

Sandy  Soil.  —  A  sandy  soil  is  made  up  largely  of  sand.  Farmers 
call  such  a  soil' '  light,'  although  it  is  the  heaviest  in  weight.  The 
term  is  applied  to  its  working  quality.  It  is  light  and  easy  to 
work,  because  its  particles  do  not  adhere  closely.  It  is  so  open  in 
texture  that  air  and  water  pass  freely  through  it;  thus  it  recovers 
quickly  from  rain  and  can  be  worked  early  in  the  spring. 

Clay  Soil.  —  A  clay  soil  contains  large  quantities  of  clay.  It 
differs  from  sandy  land  in  the  fineness  and  relations  of  its  particles; 
though  it  is  lighter  in  weight  than  sand,  farmers  call  a  clay  soil 
'  heavy  '  because  it  is  heavy  or  hard  to  work.  This  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  its  particles  adhere  closely.  Water,  air,  and  heat  do  not 
penetrate  it  readily,  but  it  has  great  power  to  absorb  and  retain 
moisture.  Heavy  winter  rains  make  it  wet  and  cold,  so  that  it 
cannot  be  worked  until  late  in  the  spring.  If  plowed  too  wet,  it 
runs  into  a  sticky  mass  and  bakes  when  dry.  If  plowed  too  dry^ 
it  breaks  in  hard  clods. 

Loam.  —  Loam  is  composed  of  a  mixture  of  sand,  clay,  and 
humus.  According  to  the  quantity  of  sand  or  clay,  it  is  called 
a  '  sandy  loam  '  or  a  '  clay  loam.'  Loam  is  easy  to  work.  Its 
porous  texture  enables  air  and  water  to  penetrate  it  readily,  and 
its  humus  enables  it  to  retain  water  and  heat. 

J^imestone  Soil.  —  A  limestone  soil  is  one  derived  from  limestone 


20 


AGRICULTURE 


rock.  Other  things  being  equal,  "  Hmestone  country  is  rich  coun- 
try." The  soil  is  generally  dry,  warm,  and  healthy  for  stock; 
and  its  luxuriant  growth  of  grass  especially  fits  it  for  stock  rais- 
ing. 

Alkali  Lands.  —  Al'ka  li  soils  contain  large  deposits  of  mineral 
salts  which  check  vegetation.  They  are  found  in  dry  regions  in 
the  western  part  of  the  United  States,  in  Egypt,  in  India,  and  in 
other  countries. 

Swamp  Soils.  —  Swamp  soils,  found  in  what  are  or  have  been 
lowlands,  contain  a  large  amount  of  decaying  vegetable  matter. 


A  Scene  in  the  Dismal  Swamp 


The  great  Dismal  Swamp  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  has,  by 
continued  deposits  of  vegetable  matter,  been  raised  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  surrounding  country. 


THE    SOIL 


21 


EXPERIMENTS 
I.   Try  for  yourself  the  experiments  with  sand,  clay,  and  humus 


described  on  pages  i6,  17,  and  18. 

2.  Get  specimens  of  sandy  and  clay  soil  and  loam 
as  to  color  and  weight,  and  as  to  size  of  particles. 

3.  Make  a  rack,  like  the  one  in 
the  illustration,  by  boring  holes  in 
one  side  of  a  box.  Get  three  glass 
tubes  or  straight  lamp  chimneys,  tie 
a  cloth  over  the  smaller  end  of  each, 
and  put  in  one  sand,  in  one  clay, 
and  in  one  garden  loam  or  wood 
mold.  Set  them  in  the  rack  with 
the  lower  end  of  each  over  a  glass 
of  water,  as  illustrated.  Pour  water 
into  them.  Through  which  does  it 
percolate  first ;  which  absorbs  most 
water  before  it  begins  to  drip ;  which 
takes  longest  to  become  dry  ? 


Compare  them 


Illustration  of  Experiment  3 


For  this  and  other  experiments  it  is  well  to  have  an  eight-ounce  grad- 
uated glass,  such  as  druggists  use,  in  which  to  measure  water. 

4.  Fill  three  tubes,  as  before,  with  the  three  kinds  of  soil.  Set 
them  in  the  rack  with  the  lower  end  of  each  in  a  glass  of  water.  In 
which  tube  does  water  rise  most  rapidly,  and  in  which  does  it  rise  to 
the  greatest  height  ? 

5.  What  is  the  character  of  the  soils  of  your  section  ?  Collect  and 
examine  some  specimens  and  write  an  account  of  them. 

Many  interesting  experiments  with  soils  may  be  made  by  the  use  of 
a  set  of  soil  sieves,  which  separate  particles  according  to  size.  Sepa- 
rate a  soil  and  make  the  same  tests  with  each  of  the  classes.  The 
differences  in  power  to  absorb  and  retain  water  are  due  largely  to  the 
differences  in  size  of  particles. 


21 


AGRICULTURE 


SOIL  MOISTURE 

Plants'  Need  of  Water.  — The  soil  is  the  home  of 
plants,  the  storehouse  of  their  food.  We  know  that 
it  is  necessary  to  the  growth  of  crops,  and  yet  it  is 
not  necessary  to  plant  life. 

A  seed,  such  as  Indian  corn,  will  sprout  in  water. 
If  there  be  added  to  the  water  certain  substances 
which  it  needs  for  food,  the  plant  will  continue  to 
grow  and  flourish  without  soil. 

Uses  of  Water.  —  But  no  plant  will  grow  in  any  soil 
without  moisture.  Moisture  is  needed  to  make  the  seed 
ger'min  ate,  or  sprout ;  the  plant  can  take  its  food  from 
the  soil  only  in  a  Hquid  form.  Water  dissolves  plant 
food,  conveys  it  to  the  roots,  bears  it  through  the 
stem  and  branches  to  the  leaves,  where  it  is  prepared 
for  food;  thence  it  is  carried  where  it  is  needed  in 
the  structure  of  the  plant. 

An  enormous  quan- 
tity of  water  is  re- 
quired for  these 
purposes.  A  twenty- 
five-bushel  crop  of 
wheat  uses  over  five 
hundred  tons  of  water 
during  its  season  of 
growth.  Where  does 
the  wheat  get  this 
water  ?  The  amount 
is  far  in  excess  of  the 
usual   rainfall   during 


A.  In  this  tube  is  shown 
the  amount  of  water 
required  to  wet  the 
pebbles  in  the  glass. 


B.  In  this  tube  is  shown 
the  amount  of  water  re- 
quired to  wet  the  sand 
made  by  crushing  the 
pebbles  in  A. 


THE   SOIL 


23 


its  growing  season.    Some  it  gets  from  the  air,  but  for  the  greater 
portion  it  depends  upon  its  storehouse,  the  soil. 

Soil  Water.  —  If  you  dig  down  into  the  soil,  you  find  it  moist 
below  the  dry  surface,  even  when  there  has  not  been  rain  for  sev- 
eral days.  Each  particle  of  this  moist  soil  is  surrounded  by  a 
film  of  water.  Around  these  particles  is  air.  The  finer  the 
particles  of  soil,  the  more  numerous  are  the  water  films  and 
the  air  spaces.  Fine-grained  clay  can  contain  three  or  four 
times  as  much  water  and  air  as  can  coarse-grained  sand. 
Careful  experiments  prove  that  under  average  weather  condi- 
tions there  is  in  twelve  inches  of  well-tilled  loam  about  four 
thousand  barrels  of  water  to  the  acre.  Near  or  far  below  the 
surface,  a  depth  is  reached  where  the  soil  spaces  are  filled  with 
water  instead  of  air.    This  is  called  the  '  water  table.' 

The  water  in  the  soil  is  always  in  motion.  _^ 

Sometimes  it  is  drawn  downward  by  the  force 
of  grS-v'i  ty.  Sometimes  it  is  drawn  upward  by 
the  force  of  cap'il  lar'i  ty. 

Gravity.  — Gravity  is  the  tendency  of  particles 
or  bodies  toward  a  center  of  attraction.  It  is 
this  force  which  makes  the  apple  fall  and 
w^hich  makes  the  rain  sink  into  the  wet  earth. 
Coarse,  sandy  soils  offer  little  resistance  to  grav- 
ity and  allow  w^ater  to  sink  freely,  but  fine  clay 
soils  hinder  its  action.  If  this  force  worked 
alone,  all  water  would  sink  into  the  earth  out  capiiiary   water    held 

of  reach  of  plant  roots.  ^  between       two       soil 

^  .        .  grains,     greatly      en- 

Capillarity. — The  force  of  gravity  is  counter-    i^^^^^^ 

acted  by  the  force  of  capillarity,  or  cap'il  la  ry 

attraction.    Capillarity  causes  a  fluid  to  ascend  through  a  porous 

substance;  it  makes  oil  rise  in  the  lamp  wick,  ink  in  the  blotter, 


24 


AGRICULTURE 


water  in  the  soil.  A  coarse,  sandy  soil  has  little  power  to  lift 
water  by  capillarity,  because  its  particles  are  so  far  apart.  In  a 
clay  soil,  on  the  other  hand,  the  particles  are  so  close  together 
that  they  hinder  capillary  movement.  Capillarity  works  best  in 
soils  of  medium  texture. 

Soil  Loss  of  Water.  —  The  soil  loses  water  in  three  ways,  — 
by  per  co  la'tion,  by  trans  pi  ra'tion,  and  by  e  vap  o  ra'tion. 
Percolation.  —  By  percolation  water  passes  through  the   soil, 

and  is  carried  by  the  force  of 
gravity  out  of  reach  of  plant 
roots.  This  loss  is  greatest  in 
coarse,  loose  soils.  They  need  to 
be  kept  compact  to  hold  the  wa- 
ter near  the  surface. 

Evaporation.  —  Evaporation  is 
the  passing  off  of  moisture  into  the 
air  as  a  vapor.  If  you  spill  water 
on  the  floor,  in  a  Httle  while  it  dis- 
appears. It  evaporates.  Much 
of  the  moisture  brought  to  the  soil 
surface  by  capillarity  is  removed  by 
evaporation.  In  hot,  dry  weather, 
it  removes  water  faster  than  capil- 
The  moisture  condensed  on  the  glass  larity  can  supply  it;  that  is  why  the 

was  transpired  by  the  plant.  r  i  i  i  i       i 

surface  becomes  dry  and  parched. 
Transpiration.  —  Much  of  the  water  taken  up  by  plants  is 
returned  to  the  air  by  transpiration,  or  being  given  out  through 
the  pores  of  their  leaves.  Transpiration  is  greatest  in  hot,  dry, 
windy  weather.  Plants  differ  greatly  in  the  amount  of  water 
which  they  transpire.  Willows,  poplars,  and  other  wet-loving 
trees  are  like  great  pumps,  drawing  water  out  of  the   soil  and 


THE   SOIL  25 

pouring  it  into  the  air.  For  this  reason  they  are  sometimes 
planted  in  wet  pastures  to  dry  them  so  that  grass  will  grow  there. 

Care  of  Soil  Moisture.  —  As  agricultural  plants  need  much 
moisture,  farmers  in  most  sections  find  it  important  to  conserve, 
or  save,  and  utilize  soil  moisture  as  fully  as  possible.  The  methods 
used  depend  largely  on  soil,  climate,  and  weather  conditions.  A 
soil's  water-holding  capacity  is  increased  by  deep  plowing,  and  by 
the  addition  of  manures  and  of  humus.  Loss  by  evaporation 
can  be  checked  by  'Stirring  the  surface  so  as  to  form  a  soil- 
mulch,  or  layer  of  loose  soil,  an  inch  or  two  thick.  This  sepa- 
rates the  particles  so  that  they  cannot  lift  the  moisture  from  the 
soil  and  subsoil  to  the  surface,  where  it  is  carried  off  by  evapora- 
tion. 

Irrigation.  —  In  some  sections  the  rainfall  is  scanty  or  uneven 
and  the  '  water  table  '  is  far  from  the  surface.  Even  when  the  soil 
moisture  is  properly  cared  for,  there  is  not  enough  to  supply  crop 
needs.  This  may  be  the  case  with  soils  which  are  rich  in  plant  food. 
Are  these  to  be  given  over  to  barrenness  ?  It  has  been  found  wise 
'and  practicable  to  ir'ri  gate  these  lands,  —  that  is,  to  supply  them 
with  water  by  a  system  of  reservoirs  and  canals  connected  with 
streams.  Lands  thus  reclaimed  are  often  wonderfully  productive. 
There  are  millions  of  acres  of  land  in  the  western  part  of  the  United 
States  which  need  ir  ri  ga'tion. 

Drainage.  —  While  some  soils  are  barren  for  lack  of  water, 
others  are  useless  for  agricultural  purposes  on  account  of  its  excess. 
We  have  already  seen  tnat  some  plants  can  live  without  soil  in  water 
supplied  with  plant  food.  Does  it,  then,  seem  contradictory  to  say 
that  plants  can  have  too  much  water  ?  In  fact,  it  is  not  that  they 
have  too  much  water,  but  that  they  have  too  little  air.  Plants,  like 
animals,  need  6x'y  gen,  and  this  oxygen  they  take  in  chiefly  through 
their  roots.     Like  animals,  they  are  drowned  and  die  if  deprived 


26 


AGRICULTURE 


of  air.     Some  air  reaches  the  roots  of  plants  in  water,  but  it  is 
excluded  frorri  close,  saturated  soils. 

You  may  have  seen  stunted,  sickly-looking  stalks  of  corn  in  a 
marshy  place,  while  near  by  on  better-drained  land  were  large, 
thrifty  plants.  In  wet  land,  the  roots'  supply  of  air  is  so  limited 
that  growth  is  stunted.  Certain  plants,  such  as  rice,  are  adapted 
to  saturated  soils,  as  fish  are  to  water.  But  most  agricultural 
plants  need  well-drained  soil.  There  are  millions  of  acres  of  land 
in  the  United  States  which  need  drainage  to  make  them  productive. 


EXPERIMENTS 

I..  Fill  a  glass  with  gravel  or  small  pebbles  and  pour  into  it  as  much 
water  as  is  needed  to  wet  them, —  that  is,  to  form  water  films  around  each 
one  without  leaving  any  free,  or  standing,  water.  Crush  the  pebbles  as 
_  fine  as  you  can  so  as  to  form  a 

coarse  sand,  and  see  how  much 
water  is  required  to  wet  this. 
Which  requires  more  water,  the 
pebbles  or  the  sand,  and  why? 

2.  Put  a  layer  of  gravel  in  a 
pan  and  then  fill  it  with  water. 
Put  in  this  three  glass  tubes 
of  different  sizes,  supported  in  a 
rack  or  frame.  Notice  that  the 
smaller  the  tube  is,  the  higher 
the  water  rises.  Thus  water 
rises  higher  through  small  soil 
spaces  than  through  large  ones. 

3.  Repeat  experiments  3 
and  4  described  on  page  21.  What  force  causes  water  to  descend 
in  the  soil  ?    What  force  causes  it  to  rise  ? 

4.  Put  a  plant  with  long  roots  in  a  bottle  nearly  full  of  water.  Put 
paper  around  the  stem  and  cover  it  with  paraffin  so  as  to  make  the  bottle 
air-tight.    Measure  the  height  of  the  water  and  weigh  the  whole.    Meas- 


[LLUSTRATION  OF  EXPERIMENT  2 


THE   SOIL  27 

ure  and  weigh  it  again  in  one  week,  and  in  two  weeks.     What  has  be- 
come of  the  water? 

5.  Fill  two  glass  jars  with  moist,  well-packed  soil.  Smooth  the  surface 
of  one  and  let  it  form  a  crust.  Keep  the  second  covered  to  the  depth 
of  an  inch  with  loose  soil.  Weigh.  At  the  end  of  a  week,  weigh  again 
and  examine  the  condition  of  the  soil  in  each. 


SOIL    VENTILATION 

Uses  of  Air.  —  As  has  been  already  said,  it  is  as  important  to 
admit  air  to  the  soil  as  to  remove  surplus  water.  Fev^  plants  can 
flourish  unless  air  is  admitted  to  their  roots.  The  air  is  of  benefit 
in  several  ways.  Plants  need  the  oxygen  to  breathe;  the  car'bon 
di  6x'ide  works  in  the  soil,  preparing  plant  food. 

Under-ventilated  Soils. — There  is  a  great  dif- 
ference in  the  natural  ventilation,  or  airing,  of 
soils.     Stiff    clay    soils    are    poorly   ventilated. 
They  are  so   compact,   or  close,  that   they   do 
not    admit    the    air    freely;   in  wet    seasons  or 
regions    the  water    stands    and  chokes  the  air       soil  particles 
spaces.     Such  soils  need    drainage.     As   water         ^^°  spaces 
is  drawn  out,  air  is  drawn  in  by  suction.     Drainage  allows  roots  to 
penetrate  deeper  and  range  more  freely ;  these  roots  open  channels  for 
water  and  air.    Tillage,  or  cultivation,  also  helps  ventilate  the  soil. 

Over-ventilated  Soils.  —  On  the  other  hand,  coarse,  sandy  soils 
are  often  too  thoroughly  ventilated.  Air  and  water  pass  freely 
through  and  carry  away  plant  food;  because  of  this  loss  of  plant 
food,  sandy  land  is  often  poor.  Such  a  soil  needs  to  be  kept  firm, 
except  for  a  soil- mulch  to  protect  it  against  loss  of  moisture  by 
evaporation. 


28 


AGRICULTURE 


EXPERIMENTS 

I.   Put  in  each  of  two  bottles  of  water  a  cutting  of  wandering  jew, 
or  some  other  easily  rooted  plant.    Pour  melted  wax  into  one  bottle,  so 

as  to  cover  the  surface  of  the  water  and 
exclude  air.     What  is  the  result? 

2.  Put  a  flourishing  plant  in  a  tin  can  of 
fertile  earth.  Keep  it  flooded  with  water 
and  notice  the  result. 


SOIL  TEMPERATURE 

Conditions  affecting  Climate.  —  Soil 
temperature,  or  its  condition  with  re- 
gard to  heat  and   cold,  is  determined 

To  the  cutting  on  the  left,  air  is  freely     ,  .    ^     ,         ,.  ^,.        ,  •, 

admitted;  it  is  excluded  from  that  chiefly  by  climate.   Climate,  you  know, 
on  the  right  by  melted  wax  poured  jg  affected  by  many  things,  —  neamess 

over  the  surface  of  the  water.  .       .  i  ,        -i     '    ^  ^ 

to  the  ocean,  ocean  currents,  height 
above  sea  level,  distance  from  the  equator,  prevailing  winds,  and 
the  presence  or  absence  of  forests. 

Conditions  affecting  Soil  Temperature.  —  But  there  is  often 
difference  in  the  temperature  of  soils  exposed  to  the  same  climate. 
The  slope  of  land  affects  its  warmth.  A  field  that  slopes  to  the 
south  receives  more  of  the  sun's  heat  waves  than  one  inclining  to  the 
north,  and  so  is  warmer.  Color  affects  temperature.  A  dark  soil 
is  warmer  than  a  light  one,  as  a  black  dress  is  warmer  than  a  white 
one;  the  dark  color  absorbs  more  heat  waves. 

A  wet  soil  is  colder  than  a  dry  one.  Many  of  the  heat  waves 
which  fall  on  wet  land  are  spent  in  evaporating  its  surplus  water; 
the  heat  waves  on  a  dry  soil  are  used  to  raise  its  temperature.  You 
have  probably  had  a  personal  experience  which  illustrates  this. 
Were  you  ever  caught  in  the  rain  and  compelled  to  remain  awhile 
in  your  wet  clothes?    It  may  have  been  summer,  but  unless  you 


THE   SOIL 


29 


kept  yourself  warm  by  exercise,  you  became  chilled.  This  was 
because  the  heat  which  would  have  kept  your  body  comfortable 
was  being  used  to  evaporate  the  water  from  your  clothes. 

EXPERIMENTS 

1.  Take  three  boxes  of  the  same  size  and  fill  one  with  dry  sand,  one 
with  dry  clay,  and  one  with  dry  loam.  In  each  insert  a  thermometer  to 
a  depth  of  two  inches.  Take  the  temperature  at  9  a.m.  Set  the  boxes 
in  the  sunshine  and  take  the  temperature  at  12  m.  Put  in  the  shade 
and  take  the  temperature  at  4  p.m.     What  differences  do  you  notice? 

2.  Put  a  cupful  of  dry  sand,  one  of  wet  sand,  and  one  of  water  on 
a  warm  stove.     Which  becomes  warm  first  and  which  last  ?     Why  ? 

3.  Take  the  temperature  at  midday  of  the  soil  two  inches  below 
the  surface  in  a  wet,  undrained  field  and  in  a  well-drained  field.  What 
difference  do  you  find  ?     Explain  the  reason. 

COMPOSITION   OF  THE    SOIL 

Elements.  —  We  are  apt  to  think  of  the  objects  around  us  as 
simple  substances,  but  this  is  seldom  the  case.  Plants,  animals, 
the  soil,  and  even  most  rocks  are  made  up  of  several  elements, 
or  simple  substances.  These  are  mixed  and  combined  in  different 
ways  so  as  to  produce  very  different  results.  Strange  as  it  seems, 
it  is  none  the  less  true,  that  our  bodies,  a  blade  of  grass,  and  the  dust 
under  our  feet  are  composed  of  almost  the  same  elements.  Chem- 
ists have  proved  this  by  separating  these  compound  substances  into 
the  simple  ones  composing  them.  As  the  farmer  measures  wheat 
and  the  grocer  weighs  flour,  so  the  chemist  measures  and  weighs 
the  elements  of  the  soil,  air,  and  water,  of  plant  and  animal  bodies. 

Elements  as  Plant  Food.  —  Although  we  may  never  wish  to 
separate  and  examine  them  as  does  the  chemist,  it  is  well  for  us  to 
know  something  about  these  elements.     We  are  interested  in  the 


30  AGRICULTURE 

earth-crust  as  the  source  of  plant  food,  and  it  is  these  which  supply 
that  food. 

In  Nature's  vast  storehouse,  most  of  the  elements  needed  by 
plants  are  placed  within  their  reach,  in  bountiful  quantities, 
but  sometimes  one  or  more  are  lacking.  The  farmer  who  under- 
stands this  subject  can  supply  the  needed  elements,  and  by  thus 
feeding  his  crop  — or  fertilizing  it,  as  we  say  —  can  increase  its  yield. 

Let  us  consider,  then,  some  of  the  elements  in  the  earth- crust. 

Metallic  Elements.  —  Six  important  elements  of  the  soil  are 
metaUic,  —  iron,  caFci  um,  mag  ne'si  um,  po  tas'si  um,  so'di  um, 
and  al  u  min'i  um. 

Iron  is  an  important  element  everywhere  abundant.  It  forms 
from  one  to  four  per  cent  of  the  soil. 

Calcium  is  a  yellowish  metal.     It  is  found  in  limestone. 

Magnesium  is  a  hard,  white  metal. 

Potassium  is  a  soft,  whitish  metal.  With  ox'y  gen  it  forms 
pot'ash,  which  is  a  compound  of  great  importance  in  agriculture. 

Sodium  is  a  soft,  hght  metal,  resembling  potassium  in  appearance. 

Aluminium  is  a  hard,  white  metal,  like  silver  in  appearance. 

Nonmetallic  Elements.  —  The  most  important  and  abundant 
nonmetallic  elements  of  the  soil  are  sil'i  con,  sul'phur,  phos'- 
phor  us,    chlo'rine,  oxygen,  hy'dro  gen,  nl'tro  gen,  and  car'bon. 

Silicon  is  the  second  most  abundant  element  in  the  earth's 
crust,  of  which  it  forms  from  one  fourth  to  one  third. 

Sulphur  is  a  pale  yellow  substance. 

Phosphorus  is  a  soft,  yellowish  substance.  It  is  usually  found  in 
small  quantities  in  the  soil,  and  its  lack  is  soon  felt  by  plants. 

Chlorine  is  a  gas  of  yellowish  green  color  and  disagreeable  odor. 

Oxygen  is  a  colorless  gas,  the  most  plentiful  element  in  nature. 
It  forms  one  half  of  the  earth-crust,  one  fifth  of  the  air,  and  eight 
ninths  of  the  water. 


THE   SOIL  31 

Hydrogen  is  another  colorless  gas,  the  lightest  known  substance. 
United  with  oxgyen  it  forms  water,  one  of  the  most  important  and 
abundant  compounds  in  nature.  Without  water,  plant  and  ani- 
mal life  cannot  exist. 

Nitrogen  is  a  colorless  gas  which  forms  four  fifths  of  the  air. 
It  is  necessary  to  both  plants  and  animals. 

Carbon,  which  exists  in  the  earth-crust  in  three  forms,  is  found 
in  plants  and  animals,  often  in  large  quantities.  Plants,  however, 
get  little  carbon  from  the  soil.  They  take  most  of  their  supply  from 
the  carbon  dioxide  of  the  air,  a  gas  formed  by  the  union  of  oxygen 
and  carbon. 

Compounds.  —  Few  of  these  elements  are  found  separate,  or 
free,  in  the  soil.     Usually  they  are  combined  to  form  compounds. 

Oxygen  takes  part  in  more  compounds  than  any  other  ele- 
ment; it  unites  readily  with  almost  all  other  elements.  Nitrogen, 
on  the  other  hand,  takes  part  in  very  few  compounds.  We  have 
learned  that  nitrogen  is  necessary  to  both  plants  and  animals, 
but  neither  animals  nor  the  higher  plants  have  the  power  of  using 
free  nitrogen,  —  that  is,  nitrogen  uncombined  with  other  elements. 

How,  then,  do  they  get  their  supply  ?  Animals  get  theirs  from 
plants,  upon  which  they  feed  directly  or  indirectly.  The  nitrogen 
in  the  soil  or  the  air  is  prepared  for  plant  use  by  little  organisms, 
called  bac  te'ri  a,  of  which  you  will  learn  more  later. 

Fertile  and  Sterile  Soils.  — The  particles  of  the  earth-crust  have 
been  so  mixed  and  combined  by  wind  and  water,  by  plants  and  ani- 
mals, and  by  chemical  action,  that  practically  the  same  elements 
enter  into  the  composition  of  all  soils.  A  sterile  soil  is  composed 
of  the  same  elements  as  a  fertile  one.  The  fertile  soil,  however, 
contains  all  the  elements  necessary  for  plant  food  in  sufficient  quan- 
tity and  in  available  forms,  — that  is,  in  forms  which  plants  can  use. 

Some  elements,  such  as  aluminium,  are  not  used  by  plants  for 


32 


AGRICULTURE 


food.  Others,  such  as  chlorine,  do  not  seem  necessary  to  plant 
life;  most  plants  flourish  without  them.  Others,  such  as  iron, 
are  so  abundant  that  even  the  poorest  soils  are 
well  supplied. 

Elements  sometimes  Lacking.  —  There  are 
three  elements  which  are  necessary  for  plant  food 
and  which  are  sometimes  lacking  in  the  soil 
or  are  found  in  forms  which  plants  cannot  use. 
These  three  are  potassium,  phosphorus,  and  nitro- 
gen.    More  rarely,  calcium  is  lacking. 

If  the  soil  lacks  any  one  element,  that  one 
must  be  supplied.  Without  it  a  crop 
will  not  thrive,  although  all  others 
may  be  abundant.  The  case  is  Hke 
that  of  a  painter  who  is  making  a 
picture  and  needs  several  colors.  He 
cannot  paint  his  picture  if  you  give 
him  much  blue  paint  and  no  yellow, 
when  he  needs  some  blue  and  some 
yellow.  So  Nature  must  have  all  her 
materials,  the  elements  needed  for  crop  growing. 

Now,  it  is  the  farmer's  aim  to  get  from  his  soil  the  largest  crop 
possible  at  the  least  possible  cost.  In  order  to  do  this  he  must 
know  what  his  land  needs  and  how  to  supply  it  in  the  most  eco- 
nomical way.  It  is  here  that  chemistry  comes  to  his  aid,  as  will  be 
explained  in  the  chapter  on  Soil  Improvement. 

EXPERIMENT 

Take  two  ounces  of  pure  sand  and  two  ounces  of  rich  wood  mold. 
Heat  each  over  an  alcohol  lamp  and  weigh  again.  The  organic  matter 
has  been  burned  off ;  what  remains  is  inorganic  matter  derived  from  the 
rock.     What  difference  is  there  between  the  sand  and  the  mold? 


The  buckwheat  plant  on  the  left  is 
supplied  with  every  element  needed 
except  potash;  the  plant  on  the 
right  is  supplied  with  potash  also. 


OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  TWO 

THE  PLANT 
Parts  of  a  Plant  : 

Seed 
Root 
Stem : 

Branches,  twigs 
Leaves 
Blossoms  : 

Calyx,  —  sepals 

Corolla,  —  petals 

Stamen,  —  filament,  anther,  pollen 

Pistil,  —  stigma,  style,  ovary 
Duration  of  Plants : 
Annual 
Biennial 
Perennial 
Differences  in  the  Parts  of  Plants : 
Roots  : 

Taprooted,  fibrous 
Stems  : 

Upright,  climbing,  prostrate 
Blossoms  : 

Perfect,  imperfect 

Pollen  carried  by  wind,  by  insects 
Seeds  : 

Scattered  by  plant,  by  wind,  by  animals 
Plant  Food  : 

Air-derived  elements  : 

Carbon,  oxygen,  hydrogen,  nitrogen  indirectly  through  soil 
Necessary  soil-derived  elements  : 

Iron,  calcium,  magnesium,  potassium,  phosphorus,  sulphur 

33 


34 


AGRICULTURE 


Plant  Reproduction  from  Buds  : 

Layering 
Cutting 
Grafting 
Budding 
Transplanting: 
Rules  for  success : 

Choose  suitable  season  and  weather 

Transplant  young  plants 

Do  not  injure  the  roots 

Prune  the  tops,  if  necessary 

Set  firmly  in  moist  soil 

Set  no  shallower  and  little  deeper  than  they  grew  originally 

Use  a  mulch  of  straw,  leaves,  or  loose  earth 
Plant  Reproduction  from  Seeds: 
How  to  obtain  good  seed : 

Select  from  plants  in  the  field 

Consider  each  plant  as  a  whole 

Choose  vigorous,  productive  plants  having  desired  qualities 

Select  large,  vigorous  seed 

Dry  them  carefully 

Store  them  in  a  cool,  dry  place 

Examine  seeds  for  purity  and  test  as  to  vitality 
How  to  Plant  Seeds  : 

Depth 

Soil  condition 

Time 
Plant  Improvement: 
Underlying  principles : 

Heredity,  variation,  selection 
Methods : 

Selection  of  seeds  or  buds,  cultivation,  crossing,  hybridizing 


CHAPTER    TWO 
THE    PLANT 
FROM    SEED  TO    SEED 

Seed  and  Plant.  —  Here  is  a  seed,  grayish  green  and  fuzzy. 
Have  you  seen  one  like  it  before  ?  If  not,  this  seed  brings  to  your 
mind  only  a  vague,  general  idea.  You  know  that  under  favorable 
conditions  it  will  produce  a  plant,  something  green  and  living. 

If  you  are  familiar  with  this  seed,  you  know  just  what  kind  of 
plant  it  will  be,  and  how  it  will  grow.  It  will  be  weak  at  first, 
and  rather  clumsy-looking  when  its  crumpled  seed  leaves  push 
through  the  soil.  But  it  will  grow  strong  and  graceful,  and  throw 
out  spreading  branches  like  a  tiny  maple  tree.  It  will  become 
perhaps  two  feet,  perhaps  six  feet,  tall.  It  will  put  forth  buds  called 
'  squares' ;  then  pretty  cream-colored  blossoms,  changing  with  age 
to  rosy  pink;  then  fruit  called  '  bolls.'  The  bolls,  at  first  green, 
will  grow  larger  and  turn  brown.  When  ripe,  they  will  open  and 
yield  a  harvest  of  soft  white  fiber,  the  cotton  of  which  our  clothing 
is  made.     All  this  lies  infolded  in  this  grayish  green,  fuzzy  seed. 

If  the  question  be  asked,  ''  For  what  does  the  farmer  grow  the 
cotton  plant?  "  you  answer  readily,  ''  For  the  sake  of  its  fiber." 
You  know  that,  because  his  chief  care  is  to  save  and  use  it.  But 
if  you  are  asked  why  Nature  raises  the  cotton  plant,  you  find  it 
more  difficult  to  answer.  It  is  not  for  the  graceful  plant,  nor  the 
pretty  blossoms,  nor  the  soft  fiber.  She  lets  all  these  return  to  the 
soil.  One  thing  she  saves  and  uses,  —  the  seeds  inwrapped  in  the 
fiber,  the  seeds  which  bring  forth  new  plants^ 

3S 


36 


AGRICULTURE 


Cotton  Plant.  —  Let  us  follow  in  detail  the  life  history  of  a  cotton 
plant.  It  is  a  pretty  and  interesting  plant,  which  less  than  two 
hundred  years  ago  was  grown  as  an  ornament  in  flower  gardens. 
Now  it  is  one  of  our  chief  agricultural  crops.  It  is  a  good  plant 
with  which  to  begin  our  study  of  agricultural  plants  on  account  of 
its  perfect  and  conspicuous  blossom,  its  regular  habits  of  growth, 


■^ 


Germinating  Cotton  :   Stages  of  Development 


and  the  way  in  which  man  has  influenced  Nature  in  its  develop- 
ment. 

Seed  Development. — Cut  open  a  cotton  seed  and  examine  it 
carefully.  Wrapped  in  a  hard  covering  or  hull  are  a  germ,  or 
minute  plant,  and  food  to  support  the  plant  until  it  can  put  forth 
roots  and  get  food  for  itself  from  the  soil. 

How  can  we  help  the  little  plant  come  forth  from  the  seed  ?  It 
must  have  help  from  outside.  We  know  that  we  may  keep  seeds 
year  after  year,  and  they  never  develop  into  plants.    To  make 


THE   i'l.ANT  37 

them  germinate,  they  need  three  things,  —  moisture  and  warmth 
and  air.  Let  us  supply  these.  Put  some  cotton  seed  in  a  flower- 
pot filled  with  fertile  soil.  Keep  it  moist  and  warm,  and  your 
seeds  will  germinate  and  develop  into  plants. 

In  the  soil,  however,  you  cannot  watch  the  development  as  you 
would  Hke  to  do.  For  this  purpose,  let  us  use  a  glass.  Fill  it 
with  soil,  and  plant  cotton  seed  next  to  the  glass.  Fasten  paper 
or  cloth  around  the  outside,  to  exclude  the  light  ;  keep  the  soil 
moist,  and  the  glass  in  a  warm  place.  The  seeds  will  germinate 
more  quickly  if  they  are  soaked  twenty-four  hours  before  they  are 
planted. 

How  Plants  Grow.  —  As  a  seed  absorbs  moisture,  it  swells. 
Then  it  puts  forth  a  tiny  shoot,  the  first  root ;  from  the  other  end  of 
this,  after  a  while,  it  puts  forth  the  beginning  of  the  stem.  The  first 
tiny  shoot  turns  downward  into  the  soil,  never  by  any  chance  making 
a  mistake  and  growing  upward.  The  stem  goes  upward  into  the 
air  and  sunlight  as  surely  as  the  root  goes  downward  into  the  soil 
and  darkness. 

We  said  that  the  store  of  nourishment  in  the  seed  enables  the 
plant  to  put  forth  its  root  and  stem.  But  that  store  is  soon  ex- 
hausted, and  the  Httle  plant  must  get  food  for  itself.  This  is,  in 
part,  the  work  of  the  root. 

How  Plants  Feed.  — The  cotton  plant  has  what  is  called  a  tap- 
root, a  long,  straight  main  root.  From  this  grow  branch  roots,  which 
divide  and  subdivide  into  rootlets,  from  the  ends  of  which  grow 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  root  hairs.  These  are  like  tiny  hands 
reaching  out  for  water  and  food. 

Plant  Food  from  Soil.  —  But  what  is  plant  food  ?  Why,  it  is 
the  elements  of  which  you  learned  in  the  chapter  about  The  Soil, 
Some  of  these  elements  —  nitrogen,  sulphur,  phosphorus,  potas- 
sium, calcium,  magnesium,  and  iron,  in  compounds  which  the 


38 


AGRICULTURE 


plant  can  use  —  are  dissolved  in  the  films  of  water  which,  as  you 
learned,  surround  soil  particles. 

Osmosis.  —  But  the  roots  have  no  mouths  or  openings  through 
which  to  take  in  food.  How,  then,  do  they  get  it  ?  The  root  hairs 
take  it  in  by  os  mo'sis.  That  is  the  scientific  name  for  the  passing 
of  substances  through  a  membrane,  or  layer  of  covering  tissue. 
By  a  simple  experiment  you  can  observe  the  working  of  this  force. 

Fill  a  small  bottle  with 
a  sirup  made  of  sugar 
and  water,  and  tie  over 
the  mouth  a  piece  of 
softened  bladder  or  the 
membrane  of  the  white 
of  an  egg.  Invert  this 
bottle  in  a  glass  con- 
taining clear  water.  In 
a  little  while  the  water 
will  be  sweetened  by 
the  sirup  which  osmosis  causes  to  pass  through  the  membrane. 
Reverse  the  experiment,  putting  clear  w^ater  in  the  bottle  and 
sirup  in  the  glass;  again  the  sirup  is  draw^n  through  the  bladder 
into  the  water.  So,  by  osmosis,  the  water  containing  the  dissolved 
elements  passes  through  the  membranes  of  the  root  hairs. 

Do  you  think  that  the  hungry  roots  feed  at  once  upon  this  sap, 
as  it  is  called  ?  No,  it  is  not  yet  ready  for  them.  It  must  be  pre- 
pared for  plant  use,  as  our  food  must  be  prepared  to  nourish  our 
bodies.  The  leaves  are  often  called  the  stomach  of  the  plant, 
because  it  is  in  them  that  the  sap  is  prepared  for  plant  food. 

How  Sap  Rises.  —  Do  you  wonder  how  the  sap  gets  from  the 
roots  to  the  leaves?  Osmosis,  capillarity,  and  transpiration  all 
aid  in  pumping  it  up.     You  can  observe  for  yourself  the  working 


The  bottle  on  the  left  and  the  glass  on  the  right  contain 
sirup;  observe  how  the  membrane  covering  the  bottle  is 
pushed  out  on  the  left  and  in  on  the  right  by  osmosis. 


THE   PLANT  39 

of  these  forces.  Take  a  lily,  snowball,  or  other  white  flower,  and 
put  the  stem  in  a  vase  of  water  colored  with  red  ink.  The  reddened 
water  is  drawn  up  through  the  stem,  and  colors  the  flower. 

Plant  Food  from  Air.  —  We  know  that  a  plant  absorbs  food 
through  its  roots.  This  is  important  and  necessary.  If  you  cut 
off  the  root,  the  part  of  the  plant  above  ground  will  die  for  lack 
of  nourishment.  But  by  far  the  greater  part  of  its  food  —  about 
ninety-five  per  cent  —  is  derived  from  the  air.  Wonderful  it  is, 
yet  true,  that  from  the  invisible  air,  to  a  large  extent,  the  plant  builds 
up  its  substantial  body.  The  elements  derived  from  the  air  are 
carbon,  oxygen,  hydrogen,  and  nitrogen.  Carbon  dioxide,  which 
is  carbon  and  oxygen,  is  taken  in  by  the  leaves.  Oxygen  and 
hydrogen,  in  the  form  of  water,  pass  down  into  the  soil  and 
are  taken  in  by  the  roots.  The  nitrogen,  in  compounds  pre- 
pared chiefly  by  bacteria  in  the  soil,  also  enters  through  the 
roots. 

A  Leaf.  —  Let  us  examine  a  leaf  under  a  microscope.  It  is 
composed  of  cells  which  are  as  colorless  as  glass.  Stored  in  these 
cells  is  a  green  coloring  matter  called  chlo'ro  phyl,  or  leaf  green, 
which  is  formed  from  iron  salts  in  the  sap.  Wherever  there 
is  greenness  in  the  plant,  there  is  chlorophyl,  —  in  stems  and 
branches,  but  especially  in  leaves.  Chlorophyl  can  be  formed  only 
in  sunlight.  That  is  the  reason  a  plant  which  grows  in  a  dark 
place  is  pale  and  colorless.  How  much  prettier  is  the  green  plant ! 
But  the  green  coloring  matter  is  not  for  beauty  alone,  though 
we  may  well  believe  this  is  one  of  the  purposes  of  our  Heavenly 
Father,  its  Creator. 

On  the  leaf,  chiefly  on  the  under  side,  are  many  little  openings 
or  mouths.  Through  these  it  takes  in  the  carbon  dioxide  of  the 
air.  By  the  action  of  chlorophyl  and  of  sunlight,  this  gas  is  sepa- 
rated into  oxygen  and  carbon.    Most  of  the  oxygen  is  returned  to 


^O  AGRICULTURE 

the  air  by  the  leaf.  The  carbon  is  retained  for  food.  But  it  is 
not  used  in  its  pure  form.  It  is  united  with  the  oxygen  and  hydro- 
gen of  the  sap  to  make  starch  and  sugar.  These  substances  form 
plant  food.  All  parts  of  the  plant  —  stem,  branches,  leaves,  and 
root  —  are  nourished  by  food  formed  in  the  leaf  laboratory  from 
elements  gathered  from  the  soil  and  the  air. 

Need  of  Sunlight.  — The  two  processes,  the  formation  of  chlo- 
rophyl  and  the  changing  of  carbon,  oxygen,  and  hydrogen  into 
starch  and  sugar,  cannot  take  place  without  sunlight.  The  plant 
is  Hke  a  machine  run  by  a  motor,  the  sun.  All  parts  of  the  machine 
may  be  perfect  and  in  readiness,  but  their  work  does  not  proceed 
imless  the  motor  is  in  action. 
Need  of  Water.  —  Leaves  perform  other  work  besides  taking 

in  and  preparing  food.  It 
requires  a  great  deal  more 
water  to  carry  food  from 
the  roots  to  the  leaves  than 
is  needed  by  the  plant  in  its 
growth.  The  surplus  water 
is  transpired,  or  given  out, 

Amount  of  water  used  in  producing  one  pound  of    v       ^^^    ^^  ^^^    ^^    ^^_ 

dry  matter  -^  ' 

turned  to  the  air.  Experi- 
ments prove  that  a  plant  uses  several  hundred  pounds  of  water  in 
forming  one  pound  of  dry  matter. 

Most  plants  thrive  best  when  they  have  much  sunshine  and  fre- 
quent showers.  In  wet  seasons,  they  suffer  for  want  of  sunlight ; 
in  dry  ones,  they  lack  water.  The  cotton  plant  is  a  native  of  the 
tropics,  and  it  loves  warmth  and  sunshine.  It  does  not  thrive  in 
cold,  wet  weather. 

Sap.  — The  food  prepared  in  the  leaves  goes  to  all  parts  of  the 
cotton  plant.    It  passes  through  the  soft,  fibrous  layer  called  the 


POTATOES                1,77-8    POUNDS 

OATS 

\.ZOe     POUNDS 

WHEAT 

1.04-9      POUNDS 

CORN 

753    POUNDS 

THE  PLANT 


41 


cam'bi  um,  which  is  between  the  hard  outer  bark  and  the  woody 

stem.     It  is  diffused  throughout  the  plant,  and  causes  the  cells 

which   compose   it  to 

increase   in   size    and 

in  number,  —  that  is, 

it  causes  the  plant  to 

grow. 

Cells.  —  If  you  ex- 
amine the  stem,  leaves, 
and  roots  of  a  cotton 
plant  under  a  micro- 
scope, you  find  that 
they  are  made  up  of 
many  parts  of  differ- 
ent shapes  and  sizes. 
These  parts  are  called 
cells.  Old  cells  con- 
tain water  and  air;  in 
young,  active  ones, 
there  are  water  and 
a  jellylike  substance 
called  pro'to  plasm. 
This  is  a  very  wonder- 
ful substance.  The 
wisest  men  cannot  tell 
you  what  life  is,  but 
by"  long  and  patient 
study  they  have 
learned  that  the  life  of  a  plant  or  an  animal  exists  in  this  substance 
called  protoplasm. 

Plants  of  a  low  order,  such  as  the  bacteria  of  which  you  will 


Bud  and  Blossom  of  the  Cotton  Plant 


42 


AGRICULTURE 


learn  more  later,  consist  of  a  single  cell,  a  simple  wall  containing 
protoplasm.  But  plants  of  a  higher  order,  such  as  the  cotton 
plant,  consist  of  many  cells,  connected  more  or  less  firmly. 

Flower.  —  Week  after  week  passes.  The  leaves  and  branches 
of  our  cotton  plant  grow  larger,  and  new  ones  are  formed.  It 
puts  forth  buds.  These  open  into  pale  yellow  blossoms.  The 
pretty,  graceful  flowers  are  a  delight  to  the  eye.  Of  these,  also, 
we  feel  that  beauty  is  one  of  their  purposes,  though  not  their 
chief  one. 

Let  us  examine  one  of  these  blossoms  carefully.     We  find  that 

it  has  four  parts.  These 
parts  are  made  up  of 
leaves  changed  in  form  to 
adapt  them  to  the  special 
work  that  they  have  to  do. 
Calyx.  —  There  is  a  cup- 
shaped  green  covering  at 
the  base  of  the  blossom. 
This  is  called  the  ca'lyx. 
You  will  observe  that  this 
calyx  is  five-parted.  These 
parts  are  called  se'pals.  In  some  plants  the  sepals  are  separate 
leaves  ;  in  others,  as  in  the  cotton,  they  grow  together.  The 
calyx  is  usually,  but  not  always,  green. 

Corolla.  —  The  blossom  cup  is  called  the  co  rol'la.  The  corolla, 
like  the  calyx,  is  separated  into  five  parts  joined  at  the  base. 
The  parts  of  the  corolla  are  called  pet'als.  Often,  as  in  the  cot- 
ton blossom,  the  corolla  is  more  delicate  in  texture  than  the  leaves 
and  is  different  from  them  in  color.  The  calyx  and  the  corolla 
are  the  most  showy  parts  of  the  blossom,  yet  they  are  only  cover- 
ings for  the  necessary  parts,  the  organs  in  the  center. 


Cot  ION  Blossom 

Outside,  showing  calyx;  inside,  showing  stamen 

and  pistil. 


THE   PLANT 


43 


Stamens.  —  Next  to  the  corolla  are  the  organs  called  sta'mens. 
Each  stamen  is  composed  of  three  parts :  the  fil'a  ment,  which  is 
the  stem;  a  knob  on  the  end  of  the  filament,  called  the  another; 
and  the  fine  dust  in  the  anther,  called  the  poFlen.  This  dust  is 
yellow  in  the  cotton  and  in  most  other  plants. 

Pistil.  —  In  the  center  of  the  flower  is  an  organ  called  the  pis'til. 
Like  the  stamen,  a  complete  pistil  is  made  up  of  three  parts.  The 
enlarged  top  is  called  the  stig'ma.  Below  this  is  a  stem  called  the 
style.  This  connects  the  stigma  with  the  enlarged  base  of  the  pistil, 
called  the  6'va  ry.  The  ovary  contains  the  o'vules,  which  later 
form  the  seeds.  A  grain  of  pollen  dust  falls  on  the  stigma  and  puts 
out  a  thread  finer  than  the  finest  thread  of  a  spider's  web.  This 
grows  through  the  style  into  the  ovary,  carrying  life  to  the  ovules. 
The  ovules  are  then  said  to  be  fertil- 
ized. If  pollen  dust  fails  to  reach  the 
stigma,  the  ovules  are  not  fertiHzed  and 
they  do  not  mature  into  seeds. 

Boll  and  Seeds. — After  a  day  or  two, 
the  corolla  of  the  cotton  plant  turns 
pink.  Then  it  shrivels  and  falls.  The 
ovary  develops  into  the  fruit,  or  boll, 
containing  seeds.  Larger  and  larger 
grows  the  boll,  green  at  first,  then 
turning  brown.  When  ripe  it  opens, 
disclosing  locks  of  soft  white  fibsr. 
Wonderful  as  it  seems,  this  fiber  is 
almost  pure  carbon,  like  the  coal  we 
burn.     It  is  made  by  the  plant  out  of 

the  carbon  of  the  air.  Its  threads,  single  cells  about  an  inch  long, 
grow  on  the  seeds.  The  boll  has  three  or  five  divisions,  each  con- 
taining several  fiber-covered  seeds.    To  produce  these  seeds  is  the 


An  Unopened  Cotton  Boll 


44 


AGKICULTURE 


life  purpose  of  the  plant.  As  soon  as  they  mature,  its  work  is 
done.  Its  roots  cease  to  take  in  food  and  water,  its  leaves  cease 
to  manufacture  starch  and  sugar,  and  the  plant  dies. 

Annuals.  — This  is  the  life  history  of  an  an'nu  al,  such  as  our 
agricultural  cotton,  which  lives  only  one  year  and  produces  one 

crop  of  seed. 

Biennials.  —  Some  plants, 
such  as  the  turnip,  do  not 
produce  seed  the  first  season. 
They  make  a  part  of  their 
growth  one  summer,  live 
through  the  winter,  blossom 
and  produce  seeds,  and  die 
the  second  year.  These  plants 
are  called  bi  Sn'ni  als. 

Perennials.  — There     is     a 
third    class   of   plants    called 
per  gn'ni  als,  which  take   still 
longer  to  make  their  growth. 
They  live  three  or  more  years, 
usually  growing  in  the  sum- 
mer and  resting  in  the  winter. 
Perennials  often  bear  many  crops  of  seed;  sometimes,  as  in  the 
case   of  the  oak,  they  are  slow  of  growth  and  live  many  years 
before  they  begin  seed  bearing. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  cotton  is  by  nature  a  perennial.  But 
the  plant  that  grows  in  our  field  is  an  annual.  It  has  been  made  so 
by  the  work  of  man.  He  has  used  conditions  of  soil  and  climate,  cul- 
ture, and  fertilizers  to  shorten  its  period  of  growth,  and  thus  change 
it  from  a  perennial  to  an  annual.  Later,  we  shall  learn  more  of  the 
influence  of  man  on  the  developAient  of  our  agricultural  plants. 


An  Opened  Cotton  Boll 


THE   PLANT 


EXPERIMENTS 


45 


1.  Get  large,  simple  flowers,  such  as  apple  blossoms  and  morning- 
glories.     Take  them  apart  so  as  to  see  the  different  parts. 

2.  Examine  germs  and  germ  food  in  seeds.  To  do  this,  put  large 
seeds,  such  as  beans  or  corn,  in  warm  water  and  let  them  soak  twenty- 
four  hours  ;  then  slip  off  the  outer  skin. 

3.  Plant  some  grains  of  corn  in  moist  soil  and  some  in  dry  soil,  and 
keep  both  in  a  warm  place.  What  is  the  result  ?  What  does  this  prove 
as  to  the  requirements  for  seed  germination  ? 

4.  Plant  corn  in  two  boxes  of  moist  soil  and  keep  one  in  a  cold 
place  and  the  other  in  a  warm  place.  What  is  the  result  ?  What  does 
this  prove  that  seeds  require  ? 

5.  Plant  soijie  grains  of  corn  in  moist,  firm  soil  and  some  in  wet  clay, 
of  which  the  surface  is  kept  packed  and  wet  so  as  to  exclude  air.  What 
is  the  result  ?  What  does  this  prove  that  seeds  require  ?  Experiments 
3,  4,  and  5  can  be  made  with  seeds  put  between  layers  of  blotting 
paper,  which  is  kept  dry,  moist,  or  saturated  with  water. 

6.  Try  experiments  3,  4,  and  5  with  growing  plants,  and  observe 
the  results  in  each  case. 

7.  Perform  the  experiment  described  on  page  38  to  show  the  working 
of  osmosis. 

8.  Put  the  same  amount  of  water  in  each  of  two  glasses.  In  one  glass 
put  a  branch  of  clover  or  some  other  plant.  Examine  the  two  glasses 
every  day  for  a  week.  What  difference  is  there  in  the  amount  of  water 
in  each?  What  has  the  plant  done  with  the  water?  Perform  ex- 
periment 4,  page  26. 

9.  Cover  green  grass  with  a  small  board.  What  effect  has  this 
covering  on  the  color  and  growth  of  the  grass  ?  Cover  a  branch  of  a 
plant  with  dark  paper  so  as  to  exclude  light.  Examine  in  three  days. 
What  do  these  experiments  prove  about  chlorophyl  ? 

10.  Pour  iodine  diluted  with  water  on  a  piece  of  cornstarch.  You  will 
see  that  iodine  turns  starch  blue.  Take  a  leaf  which  has  been  uncovered, 
and  one  which  has  been  covered,  as  in  experiment  9;  soak  both  in 
alcohol,  and  then  pour  diluted  iodine  on  them.  What  difference  is  there  ? 
What  does  this  prove  that  the  leaf  requires  in  order  to  form  starch  ? 

11.  Make  a  list  of  common  farm  annuals;  biennials;  perennials. 


46 


AGRICULTURE 


DIFFERENCES   IN   THE    PARTS    OF    PLANTS 


Main  Parts  of  Plant.  —  You  have  learned  from  your  study  of  the 
cotton  plant  that  the  main  parts  of  a  plant  are  root,  stem,  leaves, 
blossoms,  and  seeds.  Each  of  these  parts  has  its  special  work  to 
do  for  the  whole  plant.    The  root  supports  it  in  the  soil,  and  receives 


Corn,  a  fibrous  root;  beet,  an  enlarged  taproot;  alfalfa,  a  long  taproot. 
Root  Systems 

and  carries  food  and  water.  The  stem  and  branches  are  channels 
through  which  the  sap  is  diffused  to  the  different  parts  of  the  plant. 
The  leaves  are  laboratories  in  which  the  sunlight  makes  plant  food 
out  of  the  elements  collected  from  air  and  soil.  The  blossoms  con- 
tain the  organs  necessary  to  reproduce  the  plant  and  to  continue 
the  life  of  its  kind  on  the  earth.  The  seed  is  the  result  of  the  work 
of  these  organs. 

Taproot.  — The  cotton  plant  has,  as  we  have  learned,  what  is 
called  a  taproot.  The  first  root  grows  and  enlarges  into  one  main 
root  with  branch  roots,  rootlets,  and  root  hairs.     Among  taprooted 


THE  PLANT 


47 


plants  are  the  oak,  tobacco,  and  thistle.  What  are  called  root 
crops,  such  as  turnips,  beets,  and  parsnips,  are  biennials  with 
taproots.  During  the  first  season,  their  roots  store  up  food,  in 
the  form  of  sugar  and  starch,  for  the  plant  to  use  the  second  season. 


A  Climbing  Stem 

This  California  grapevine  is  probably  the  largest  in  the  world.     The  vine  yields  every  year 
about  ten  tons  of  grapes. 


1 


Instead  of  drawing  from  the  soil  for  the  latter  part  of  its  growth, 
the  plant  uses  this  store  laid  up  in  itself.  If  you  examine  a  turnip 
root  after  the  plant  has  made  its  second  season's  growth,  you  find 
that  it  is  a  mere  shell,  almost  empty  of  nourishment. 

Fibrous  Roots.  —  Instead  of  a  taproot,  some  plants  have  fibrous 
roots,  a  number  of  roots  extending  in  all  directions.    These,  also, 


48  AGRICULTURE 

branch  and  subdivide  into  smaller  roots,  rootlets,  and  root  hairs. 
Cereals  and  grasses  are  fibrous-rooted  plants.  Sometimes  fibrous 
roots  enlarge  and  store  up  sugar  and  starch.  Sweet  potatoes, 
for  instance,  are  enlarged  fibrous  roots. 

Weak-  and  Strong-Feeding  Plants.  —  Roots  differ  greatly  in 
their  power  to  take  in  food  from  the  soil.  Some  plants  ere  very 
weak  feeders.  For  them  to  thrive,  the  soil  must  be  carefully  pre- 
pared, and  food  must  be  near  in  available  form.  Strong-feeding 
plants  have  much  greater  power  to  collect  food  and  require  less 
care,  though  no  agricultural  plant  will  thrive  on  neglect.  Wheat 
is  a  weak  feeder  and  corn  is  a  strong  feeder,  belonging  to  the  same 
great  family  of  cereals,  or  grain  plants. 

Stems.  — The  stem  bsars  the  branches,  with  the  leaves,  blos- 
soms, and  seeds.  It  is  the  channel  for  the  sap.  Stems  vary  greatly 
in  appearance.  Usually,  as  in  the  case  of  the  cotton  plant,  they 
are  stiff  enough  to  hold  the  plant  upright.  Vines,  such  as  the  grape- 
vine and  ivy,  have  stems  which  chmb  on  some  support.  Melons, 
such  as  the  watermelon,  have  prbs'trate  stems,  which  lie  upon  the 
ground.  Sometimes  the  stem,  or  a  part  of  it,  grows  underground. 
This  is  the  case  with  Bermuda  grass.   The  white,  or  Irish,  potato  is 

an  enlargement  of  an  underground  stem. 
Parts  of  Stem. — In  most  stems  there 
are  a  woody,  fibrous  matter,  a  cambium, 
or  inner  bark,  and  a  thick  outer  bark. 
In  the  center  of  the  stem  of  long-lived 
perennial  trees  there  is  a  layer  of  old 
A  white  potato -an  enlarged      tissuc,    or    hcartwood,    through    which 

underground  stem  i  •     t    i  r 

there  is  little  movement  of  sap. 
Girdling  Plants.  —  If  a  plant  is  girdled,  or  has  its  outer  bark 
and  cambium  cut  off  all  around,  the  top  does  not  wither  and  die 
at  once,  as  it  does  if  its  roots  are  cut.     Sap  still  mounts  upward 


THE   PLANT 


49 


through  the  wood,  is  changed  to  food  in  the  leaves,  and  feeds  the 
upper  part  of  the  plant.  But  it  caiinot  go  below  the  girdled  cam- 
bium to  feed  the  roots.  Sooner  or  later  —  in  the  case  of  a  tree 
it  may  be  several  months  —  the  roots  die  of  starvation.  A  farmer 
often  girdles  in  summer  trees  that  he  wishes  to  kill;  they  die 
entirely,  root  first.  If  they  were  cut  down,  the  roots  might  still 
live  and  send  up  new  growth  year  after  year. 


An  Ear  of  Corn,  the  'Silk'  of  which  was  not  fertilized  by  Pollen 
FROM  THE  Tassels  of  another  Plant 

Leaves.  —  You  have  learned  that  leaves  are  formed  of  clear 
cells  containing  a  green  coloring  matter  called  chlorophyl,  and  that 
they  manufacture  food  for  the  plants.  Therefore  you  realize  that 
the  presence  and  health  of  the  foliage  are  very  important.  If  it 
be  destroyed,  as  by  disease,  the  whole  plant  will  suffer  and 
perhaps  die.  If  crops  are  shaded  by  trees  or  weeds,  the  manu- 
facture of  plant  food  in  the  leaves'  is  hindered  for  lack  of  sun- 
light. 

Sugar  and  starch  are  stored  up  in  some  leaves,  as  they  are 
in  some  roots.  It  is  this  store  which  makes  the  leaves  of  cabbage 
valuable  for  food. 

Underground  Leaves.  —  There  are  underground  leaves  as  well 
as  underground  stems.    They  are  never  green  in  color,  because 


50 


AGRICULTURE 


the  sunlight,  which  is  necessary  to  form  chlorophyl,  cannot 
reach  them.  Bulbs,  such  as  the  hly  and  the  onion,  are  thick- 
ened, underground  leaves  crowded  together  on  a  shortened  stem. 
Perfect  Flowers.  —  The  cotton  is  a  plant  with  a  perfect  flower, — 
that  is,  the  blossom  has  calyx,  corolla,  stamens,  and  pistil.    One 

blossom  can  fertilize  and  pro- 
duce seeds. 

Imperfect  Flowers.  —  Some 
plants  have  imperfect  flowers  in 
which  one  or  more  of  these  four 
parts  is  lacking.    Some  lack  the 

Perfect  and  imperfect  strawberry  blossoms.  CalyX,  Or  the  COrolla,  Or  both  ; 
The  one  on  the  left  has  both  stamens  and  somC  bear  StamcnS  and  pistils  On 
pistils,  the  one  on  the  right  has  pistils  only.  ^     i  i  -r^'  j 

separate  blossoms.  Did  you  ever 
think  of  the  tassels  and  the  ear  as  the  blossoms  of  the  corn? 
That  is  what  they  are.  The  tassels  are  the  stamen-bearing  flowers, 
and  the  yellow  dust  on  them  is  pollen.  The  ear  is  the  pistil- 
bearing  flower  and  cannot  ripen  grain  unless  pollen  falls  on  its 
silk,  which  is  the  ends  of  its  pistils.  Sometimes  the  pistil-  and  the 
stamen-bearing  blossoms  are  on  different  plants.  This  is  the  case 
with  the  hop  and  with  many  varieties  of  strawberries.  Pistil- 
bearing  flowers  cannot  bear  fruit  and  mature  seeds  unless  they 
are  fertilized  by  stamen-bearing  ones.  Plants  which  bear  only 
stamens  never  produce  seeds. 

Pollen  Carrying.  —  One  plant  cannot  leave  its  place  in  the  field 
and  carry  its  pollen  to  another.  How,  then,  is  it  conveyed  ?  The 
two  chief  ways  are  by  means  of  the  wind  and  by  means  of 
insects. 

By  the  Wind.  —  Pollen  is  so  light  that  it  is  easily  and  often 
carried  a  great  distance  by  the  wind.  It  is  to  prevent  the  wind 
from  bearing  the  pollen  of  one  to  another,  that  farmers  plant  dif- 


THE   PLANT 


51 


A  bumblebee  getting  nectar  and 
pollen  from  red  clover 


ferent  varieties  of  corn  far  apart.  If  pop  corn  is  planted  near 
field  corn,  they  will  'mix,'  as  farmers  say,  and  grow  alike. 

The  wind  is  a  very  wasteful  messen- 
ger. It  scatters  pollen  on  the  ground 
and  over  other  plants.  Plants  that 
depend  upon  the  wind  as  their  pol- 
len bearer  need  to  produce  a  great 
deal.  As  a  rule,  plants  with  wind- 
borne  pollen  have  small,  scentless 
flowers,  and  light,  dry  pollen.  Such 
are  the  grasses. 

By  Insects.  —  Some  plants  de- 
pend on  winged  insects  to  carry 
their  pollen.  Insects,  as  you  know, 
are  busy  little  workers.    They  labor 

to  provide  food  for  the  day  and  also  for  the  morrow.  They  do  not 
carry  pollen  for  nothing.  The  plants  pay  them  by  giving  food  — 
nectar  or  pollen — and  it  is  to  get  this  that  the  insects  visit  flowers. 
The  blossoms'  gay  colors  or  sweet  odors  are  signs  that  they  have 
food  to  give  for  pollen  bearing.  When  an  insect  gets  food  from 
a  flower,  it  is  dusted  with  pollen.  This  is  deposited  on  the  stigma 
of  the  next  flower  that  it  visits.  Flowers  which  depend  on  insects 
as  pollen  bearers  do  not  provide  as  much  as  do  those  that  depend 
on  the  wind,  because  it  is  carried  with  much  less  waste. 

By  Hand.  —  Pollen  can  be  transferred  by  hand,  and  this  is 
one  of  the  methods  which  is  used  to  produce  new  varieties  of  plants. 
The  blossom  that  it  is  desired  to  pSrii  nate  is  kept  covered  to 
prevent  its  receiving  pollen  from  any  other  source.  Pollen  is  care- 
fully  collected  from  another  plant  and  put  upon  the  stigma.  By 
hand-pol  H  na'tion  valuable  breeds  of  wheat,  oats,  corn,  and  other 
agricultural  plants  have  been  obtained. 


52  AGRICULTURE 

Seed  Sowing.  —  To  have  their  seeds  sown,  plants  resort  to 
many  methods.  Sometimes  a  plant  scatters  its  own  seed.  This 
is  the  case  with  the  balsam,  or  touch-me-not.  If  you  touch  a  ripe 
seed  pod,  it  pops  and  throws  its  seed  some  distance.  Sometimes 
the  wind  acts  as  seed  bearer.  In  that  case  the  seeds  are  very  light, 
such  as  those  of  the  dandelion  and  thistle.  Sometimes  animals 
convey  seeds.  Those  with  hooks  and  burs,  such  as  beggar  weed 
and  cocklebur,  stick  to  the  wool  or  fur  or  hair  of  animals,  or  to 
the  clothing  of  people,  and  make  them  unintentional  and  often 
unwilling  seed  bearers.  Plants  sometimes  treat  higher  ani- 
mals as  they  do  insects,  and  pay  them  to  carry  seeds.  Berries 
and  orchard  fruits  have  juicy,  fleshy  coverings.  These  are  used 
for  food,  and  the  seeds  are  scattered. 

Plants  as  Food  Makers.  —  Seeds,  as  you  learned,  contain  not 
only  a  germ,  or  Uttle  plant,  but  also  a  store  of  nourishment  to 
support  the  germ  in  its  first  stages  of  plant  Hfe.  Some  seeds, 
such  as  those  of  wheat,  oats,  barley,  rice,  and  corn,  are  rich  in 
starch ;  these  furnish  food  for  man  and  beast.  Some  seeds,  such 
as  those  of  the  poppy,  flax,  and  cotton,  are  rich  in  oils ;  they  are 
used  to  produce  oil  for  illumination,  paint,  varnish,  medicine, 
food,  and  for  other  purposes. 

Did  you  ever  consider  that  plants  are  the  only  real  food  makers 
in  the  world  ?  Out  of  inorganic  material  they  form  sugar,  starch, 
oil,  and  other  compounds,  which  they  store  up  in  their  roots,  stems, 
leaves,  fruit,  or  seeds.  From  this  source,  man  and  the  lower 
animals  derive,  directly  or  indirectly,  all  their  food. 

EXPERIMENTS 

1.  Collect  and  compare  the  stems,  roots,  leaves,  blossoms,  and  seeds 
of  as  many  agricultural  plants  as  you  can  get. 

2.  To  see  the  extent  of  a  root  system,  grow  clover  plants  in  a  box  of 


THE   PLANT 


53 


mellow  soil.     Then  remove  the  bottom  of  the  box  and  soak  the  soil  away 
so  as  not  to  break  the  roots. 

3.  To  see  how  biennials  feed  on  their  root-store  of  food,  put  a  Chinese 
lily  bulb  in  a  pan  of  water  in  a  sunny  place.  See  how  as  it  blooms  it 
*  eats  up  its  own  root.' 

4.  Girdle  a  branch  of  a  worthless  tree  and  observe  what  happens. 

5.  Watch  flowers  and  see  what  are  their  insect  visitors.  Can  you 
think  of  any  reason  why  a  bee  is  a  better  pollen-bearer  than  an  ant  ? 

6.  Examine  strawberry  blossoms  to  find  perfect  and  imperfect  ones. 
Keep  a  plant  with  an  imperfect  flower  covered  during  blossom  time  so  as 
to  exclude  insects.     Does  it  bear  fruit? 


Illustration  of  Experiment  7 

The  three  plants  on  the  left  are  from  whole  grains  of  corn  ;  the  three  on  the  right  are  from 

grains  from  which  most  of  the  germ  food  was  cut. 

7.  Take  some  grains  of  corn  of  about  the  same  size,  and  from  half  cut 
off  most  of  the  germ  food,  being  careful  to  leave  the  germ  uninjured. 
Plant  the  grains  and  observe  the  difference  in  germination  and  growth  of 
the  plants  from  cut  and  uncut  grains.  What  does  this  experiment  teach 
as  to  use  of  germ  food  and  as  to  relative  value  of  large  and  small  seeds? 


54  AGRICULTURE 


PLANT   FOOD 


Plants'  Need  of  Food.  —  You  know  that  an  animal  must  have 
food;  did  you  ever  consider  that  food  is  as  necessary  to  a  plant  as 
to  an  animal  ?  Every  living  thing  needs  food  to  keep  it  alive  and 
to  make  it  grow.  But,  you  say,  we  did  not  feed  the  cotton  plant. 
We  did  so  indirectly.  We  planted  the  seed  and  cared  for  the  young 
plant  so  that  it  could  get  food  from  its  two  great  storehouses,  the 
soil  and  the  air.  Sometimes,  however,  we  have  to  do  more  than 
this.  We  have  to  supply  to  our  crop-plants  elements  that  they 
need,  and  in  order  to  do  this  we  ought  to  know  what  these  ele- 
ments are. 

Chemists  have  analyzed  plants  and  separated  them  into  the 
elements  of  which  they  are  composed.  Thus  they  have  learned 
what  is  needed  to  make  them  grow  and  develop.  All  of  the  elements 
which  exist  in  the  soil  are  not  necessary  to  plants. 

Necessary  Elements.  —  There  are  ten  which  are  necessary  for 
plant  growth.  These  are  oxygen,  hydrogen,  carbon,  nitrogen,  iron, 
phosphorus,  sulphur,  calcium,  magnesium,  and  potassium.  We 
cannot  say  that  any  one  of  these  is  more  important  than  another. 
If  the  plant  be  deprived  of  any  one,  it  will  die. 

Air-derived  Elements.  — The  elements  oxygen,  hydrogen,  car- 
bon, and  nitrogen  are  derived  directly  or  indirectly  from  the  air. 
They  form  about  ninety-five  per  cent  of  the  plant's  body. 

The  oxygen  and  hydrogen  are  taken  in  chiefly  in  the  form  of 
water.  It  dissolves  solids,  liquids,  and  gases,  and  carries  food 
to  plant  roots. 

Carbon  composes  about  half  the  solid  matter  of  a  plant.  It 
forms  a  small  quantity  of  the  air,  —  only  about  one  part  in 
twenty-five  thousand, — but  the  amount  in  the  whole  volume  of 


THE   PLANT 


55 


air  is  enormous.     Great  as  are  plant   demands  upon  it,   there 
is  no  danger  that  the  supply  will  ever  b3  exhausted. 

Nitrogen,  which  is  necessary  to  all 
living  things,  cannot  be  used  by  the 
higher  plants  until  it  is  prepared  in 
certain  compounds.  Most  plants 
get  their  nitrogen  as  nftrates,  com- 
pounds prepared  by  bacteria  in  the 
soil.  A  class  of  plants,  called  leg'- 
umes,  can  use  the  nitrogen  of  the 
air  indirectly  by  means  of  bacteria 
which  Hve  in  knots,  called  tu'ber- 
cles,  on  their  roots. 

In  one  way  or  another  the  nitro- 
gen, without  which  all  living  things 
w^ould  starve,  is  prepared  by  bac- 
teria. Later  on,  you  w  ill  learn  more 
about  these  bacteria.  They  are  the 
smallest  known  living  organisms, 
and  are  so  tiny  that  they  are  visible 
only  under  a  powerful  microscope; 
their  very  existence  was  unsuspected 
until  recent  years. 

Soil-derived  Elements.  —The 
plant  derives  from  the  soil  only 
about  five  per  cent  of  its  food ;  but,  small  as  this  portion  is,  the  plant 
cannot  live  without  it.  The  necessary  soil-derived  elements  are 
iron,  sulphur,  magnesium,  calcium,  phosphorus,  and  potassium. 
Of  these  elements,  four  —  iron,  sulphur,  magnesium,  and  usually 
calcium  —  are  abundant  in  most  soils.  As  has  been  said,  nitrogen, 
phosphorus,  and  potash  sometimes  exist  in  soils  in  Hmited  quan- 


Roots  of  soy  bean,  showing  tubercles, 
slightly  reduced  in  size 


56 


AGRICULTURE 


tity.     If  present,  they  are  often  in  forms  which  the  plant  cannot 
use. 

A  chemist  will  analyze  a  piece  of  granite  and  tell  you  that  it 
contains  all  the  elements  needed  for  plant  food.  But  they  are 
locked  up  in  forms  which  the  plant  cannot  use ;  they  are  '  un- 
available,' we  say.  The  plant  can  no  more  feed  on  them  than 
we  can  clothe  ourselves  in  the  cotton  fiber  in  the  boll,  or  than 

we   can  make  bread  of  unhusked 
corn. 

Soil  Texture.  —  Even  in  soil  well 
supplied  with  plant  food,  crops  may 
not  thrive.  The  soil  texture  may  be 
unfavorable.  You  have  learned 
something  about  the  differences  in 
soils  and  how  texture  affects  rela- 
tions to  water,  air,  and  heat.  You 
have  learned  also,  that  these  three 
things  have  an  important  influence 
on  the  growth  of  plants.  You  un- 
derstand, then,  that  while  sand, 
clay,  and  humus  furnish  Httle  plant 
food,  they  affect  plant  growth  and 
crop  yield. 

Each  kind  of  soil  has  vegetation  especially  adapted  to  it. 
A  sandy  soil,  if  well  supplied  with  plant  food,  is  adapted  to 
tubers  and  root  crops;  it  yields  up  plant  food  fully  and  freely, 
and  the  growing  roots  easily  push  its  particles  aside.  Clay  soils 
are  adapted  to  grain  and  grass  crops  and  to  other  plants  with  fine, 
fibrous  roots  that  can  make  their  way  among  the  tiny  particles 
to  collect  plant  food  and  water.  Certain  plants,  such  as  blue  grass, 
thrive  best  in  a  limestone  soil.     The  limestone  region  of  Kentucky 


The  beet  on  the  left  was  grown  in 
mellow,  well-tilled  soil ;  that  on  the 
right  was  grown  in  rough,  hard  clay.  - 


THE  PLANT 


57 


is  often  called  '  the  blue  grass  country.'    Nearly  all  plants  flourish 
on  a  mellow  loam,   because  it  is  well  suppHed  with  moisture, 


warmth,  and  air. 


EXPERIMENTS 


1.  Weigh  a  plant,  such  as  cotton.  Put  it  in  the  stove  and  let  it  dry 
thoroughly.  Then  weigh  again.  What  has  the  plant  lost?  Take  off 
the  leaves  and  weigh  them.  Burn  them  and  weigh  the  ashes.  Weigh 
the  stem,  and  then  burn  it  and  weigh  the  ashes.  The  ashes  are  the  soil- 
derived  elements.  What  difference  is  there  between  the  quantity  in 
leaves  and  in  stem? 

2.  Bum  an  equal  weight  of  dry  straw  and  dry  tobacco.     What  does 
this  experiment  show  as  to  the 
composition  of  plants  ? 

3.  Put  some  grains  of  corn 
in  a  bottle  of  pure  distilled 
water.  What  happens  as  soon 
as  the  plants  use  up  the  store 
of  food  in  the  seeds  ? 

4.  Put  in  another  bottle  water 
supplied  with  plant  food  in  the 
following  proportions :  — 

Distilled  water  1 000.0  grams 
Potassium  nitrate  i.o  grams 
Calcium  phosphate  .5  grams 
Calcium  sulphate  .5  grams 

Magnesium  sulphate  .5  grams 
A  trace  of  iron  sulphate 

Put  some  grains  of  corn  in  this 
water.  Renew  the  solution  fre- 
quently and  keep  the  bottle  covered  with  dark  paper.  Prepare  other 
bottles  of  distilled  water,  omitting  one  or  more  of  these  food  elements. 
What  are  the  results  ?  Use  all  the  elements  with  one  fourth  this  quantity 
of  water.     What  does  this  prove  about  the  oversupply  of  plant  food? 

5.  Collect  legumes  and  examine  tubercles  on  the  roots. 


The  plant  on  the  right  is  supplied  with  plant 
food  in  the  proper  amount  of  water ;  the  plant 
on  the  left  has  similar  plant  food  in  one  fourth 
the  amount  of  water.  * 


58 


AGRICULTURE 


PLANT   REPRODUCTION   FROM   BUDS 


Buds.  —  Plants  are  usually  grown  from  seeds,  but  it  is  sometimes 
easier  and  better  to  grow  them  from  buds.  Every  branch  ends 
in  a  bud,  and  buds  are  also  formed  at  regular  places  on  the  branch. 
These  buds  which  continue  the  growth  of  the  old  plant  can  be  used 
to  make  new  ones.  A  budded  plant  is  sure  to  be  Hke  its  parent 
plant,  because  it  is  a  part  of  it. 

There  are  cases  in  which  it  is  not  only  desirable,  but  necessary, 
to  grow  plants  from  buds,  in  order  to  preserve  the  variety.  Some 
plants  do  not  'come  true  to  seed.'  An  apple  seed,  for  instance, 
instead  of  producing  a  tree  that  bears  fruit  like  the  one  from  which 
it  was  taken,  is  more  apt  to  produce  one  resembling  the  wild  crab 

from  which  it  originated. 
Methods  of  Bud  Re- 
production. —  There  are 
various  ways  of  reproduc- 
ing plants  by  buds,  — 
r^PS^  .^  _  /        i       M  by    lay'er  ing,    cut'tings, 

grS,ft'ing,  and  bud'ding. 
In  all  cases  the  purpose 
is  the  same:  to  produce 
from  a  part  of  an  old 
'''^WW////^WM'M/^/J!fIM/Jf^'^'^( '    "■^'  plant    a    new    one    that 

reproduces  its  character- 

istics. 

Layering.  —  In  layering,  there  is  used  a  shoot  which  grows  from 

the  root  of  the  plant.     Earth  is  placed  over  the  stem  of  this,  and 

usually  the  tip  is  left  out  to  continue  its  growth.     At  first  it  receives 

nourishment  from  the  parent  root,  but  after  a  while  the  covered 


THE   PLANT 


59 


stem  sends  forth  a  root  of  its  own.  Then  it  is  separated  from  the 
parent. 

Layering  is  an  easy  and  successful  way  of  reproducing  most 
plants  which  send  up  shoots  from  the  roots.  Some  plants,  such 
as  the  raspberry,  increase  naturally  by  layering. 

Cuttings.  —  For  cuttings,  there  are  used  pieces  of  stem  which 
contain  one  or  more  good  healthy  buds.    These  cuttings  are  rooted 


A  Dormant  Cutting 


A  Green  Cutting 


in  water,  in  soil,  or  in  fine,  clean  sand  kept  warm  and  moist. 
Roots  grow  from  the  end  of  the  stem  or  from  the  base  of  a  bud; 
a  bud  sends  forth  a  stem,  which  becomes  a  new  plant. 

'Sometimes  the  cutting  does  best  if  it  is  taken  when  the 
plant  is  dor'mant,  —  that  is,  when  it  is  resting  from  growth,  as 
fruit  trees  do  in  the  winter.  During  the  growing  season,  nourish- 
ment is  stored  up  in  the  cambium  and  at  the  end  of  the  twig 
to  begin  the  growth  next  season.    The  cutting  from  a  dormant 


6o 


AGRICULTURE 


twig  has  this  nourishment  to  help  it  make  roots  and  growth  of 
its  own. 

As  you  learned,  the  white  potato  is  an  underground  stem. 
When  we  cut  and  plant  potatoes  for  seed,  we  use  a  method  of 
reproduction  by  cutting,  just  as  when  we  make  a  cutting  from 
the  above-ground  stem  of  the  grape. 

For  some  plants,  such  as  geraniums,  we  use 
green  cuttings, —  that  is,  cuttings  taken  from  the 
plant  during  its  season  of  growth.  At  least  half 
the  leaves  are  removed,  some  being  left  to  pre- 
pare plant  food. 

Grafting.  —  Grafting,  also,  is  a  method  of  re- 
production by  means  of  buds.  In  this  case, 
however,  instead  of  being  grown  in  soil,  the 
young  plant  is  grown  on  the  stem  or  root  of 
another  plant.  Grafting  has  several  advantages 
in  the  case  of  plants  to  which  it  is  adapted.  In 
the  first  place,  it  gives  the  new  plant  the  benefit 
of  a  root  system  already  established.  In  the 
second  place,  it  has  been  found  that  certain 
plants  are  more  vigorous  and  productive  on 
other  roots  than  on  their  own.  In  the  third  place,  grafting  can 
be  used  to  modify  habits  of  growth.  A  pear  tree  on  a  quince 
root  is  smaller,  matures  earlier,  and  is  more  productive  than  a 
pear  tree  on  a  pear  root. 

Grafting  is  done  by  inserting  a  twig  of  the  desired  variety  on 
the  root  or  stem  of  another.  The  plant  food  passes  from  the  cam- 
bium of  one  to  the  other,  and  finally  the  two  grow  into  one. 
Methods  of  grafting  are  described  more  fully  in  connection  with 
orchard  fruits,  for  which  they  are  much  used. 

Budding.  —  Budding  is  a  method  of  grafting  where,  instead 


A  coleus  leaf  cutting 
rooted 


Grafting 
b,  separate  parts  of  the  graft ;  c,  parts  united ;  d,  wax  applied. 


Budding 

a,  cutting  oflf  the  bud ;  b,  stock  prepared  by  a  T-shaped  cut;  c,  inserting  the  bud  into  the 
stock ;  d,  the  bud  inserted ;  e,  the  bud  fastened  in  place. 


62 


AGRICULTURE 


of  a  twig,  there  is  used  a  single  bud  of  the  desired  variety.  This  is 
inserted  into  the  stem  of  the  plant  upon  which  it  is  to  be  grown. 
Budding,  also,  is  more  fully  described  in 
connection  with  orchard  fruits. 


EXPERIMENTS 

Try  to  grow  some  plants  from  buds.  You 
may  not  find  it  easy  to  grow  plants  by  grafting 
and  budding,  but  layering  and  cutting  are  less 
difficult.  Be  sure  that  you  try  to  reproduce 
the  best  varieties. 

1.  Raise  a  strawberry  plant  and  a  grapevine 
by  layering. 

2.  Raise  a  white  potato  and  a  geranium  from 
cuttings.      Do  you  use  a  green  or  a  dormant 

A  budded  tree  from  which  cutting  of  the  geranium  ?     Why  ? 
the  top  of  the  stock  has  just  g^^  ^^^        f^  ^^^^  seedling  apple  trees, 

usmg   buds  and  scions   from   a  good    variety. 
Do  you  use  green  or  dormant  cuttings  ?    Why  ? 

4.    Why  do  you  remove  some  leaves  from  a  green  cutting  and  why 
do  you  leave  some? 


TRANSPLANTING 


Transplanting.  —  It  is  seldom  the  case  that  we  wish  to  leave  just 
where  we  reared  it  the  plant  grown  from  a  bud  by  layering,  cut- 
ting, grafting,  or  budding.  When  it  has  a  root  system  of  its  own, 
we  usually  transplant  it,  or  take  it  up  and  set  it  in  another  place. 
If  this  be  done  with  care,  most  plants  will  live.  They  develop 
more  roots  and  flourish  better  than  those  that  are  not  trans- 
planted. If  transplanting  be  carelessly  done,  plants  are  very  apt; 
to  die. 


THE   PLANT 


63 


Rules  for  Transplanting.  — There  are  a 
which  give  success  in  transplanting. 

First :  The  most  favorable  season  should 
be  selected.  In  the  case  of  such  plants  as 
tomatoes  and  sweet  potatoes,  transplanting 
should  be  done  when  the  weather  is  cool 
and  damp,  preferably  in  the  late  afternoon. 

Second :  A  plant  should  be  transplanted 
when  young.  It  is  more  apt  to  adapt 
itself  to  new  conditions  and  make  vig- 
orous growth. 

Third:  It  should  be  taken  up  so  as  to 
break  the  roots  as  little  as  possible  and 
should  be  kept  moist  and  shaded.  If 
the  roots  become  dry,  the  plant  loses 
vitality  and  may  die. 

Fourth :  It  is  well  to  cut  off  some  of  the 
top,  especially  of  a  tree  or  large  plant.  In 
taking  it  up,  roots  are  unavoidably  broken. 


few  simple  precautions 


The  plant  on  the  left  was  improperly  set ;  the  soil  is 
being  pressed  properly  to  the  roots  of  the  plant  on  the 
right. 

Fifth:  The  plant  should  be  dipped  in 
fertile  soil  packed  firmly  around  its  roots 


The  celery  plant  to  the  left 
was  transplanted;  the  one  to 
the  right  was  not. 

The  root  system  is  thus 
smaller,  and  it  has 
to  adapt  itself  to  new 
conditions.  It  is  unable 
properly  to  supply  food 
to  the  whole  plant. 
Therefore  the  top  should 
be  cut  back  to  corre- 
spond with  the  smaller 
root  and  to  give  it  time 
to  reestablish  itself, 
water  and  have  moist, 
,    This  enables  them  to 


64 


AGRICULTURE 


absorb  moisture  and  to  begin  as  soon  as  possible  to  take  food  from 
the  soil.  The  soil  should  not  be  too  wet,  as  wet  soil  around  the  roots 
excludes  air.  Unless  it  be  very  dry,  it  is  generally  better  not  to 
use  wateT  except  to  moisten  the  roots.  If  water  be  used,  it  should 
be  poured  around  the  roots  before  all  the  soil  is  added.  If  it  be 
applied  to  the  surface,  as  the  soil  dries,  it  forms  a  crust  which  ex- 
cludes air  and  hastens  evaporation. 


Strawberry  Plants 

The  plant  on  the  left  is  set  too  deep,  with  its  roots  bunched ;  the  one  in  the  middle  is  set 
too  shallow ;  the  one  on  the  right  is  set  properly. 

Sixth:  The  plant  should  be  set  as  near  as  possible  as  it  grew 
originally.  It  will  usually  do  no  harm  to  set  it  a  little  deeper. 
But  it  is  not  apt  to  thrive  if  it  be  set  much  deeper  or  much  shallower 
than  it  originally  grew.  The  hole  should  be  deep  enough  and 
broad  enough  for  the  roots  to  spread  out  naturally  without  being 
bunched  or  bent.  The  surface  soil  should  be  put  in  first,  and  then 
the  subsoil,  which  is  usually  harder  and  poorer  in  available  plant 
food.  It  is  important  to  make  the  soil  firm  and  compact,  as  it  is 
put  in,  by  trampling  or  pressing. 

Seventh:  It  is  sometimes  well  to  shade  a  plant  for  a  few  days 
from  the  hot  sunshine,  or  to  protect  the  roots  by  a  mulch  of  straw 
or  leaves,  as  well  as  of  loose  earth. 


THE   PLANT  65. 

Transplanting  Crops.  — There  are  a  number  of  crops  which  are 
grown  almost  entirely  from  transplanted  plants.  Nearly  all 
orchard  fruits  and  most  berries  are  so  grown.  Tobacco  is  the  only 
field  crop  which  is  so  raised.  Some  vegetables,  such  as  tomato,  cab- 
bage,'and  sweet  potato,  are  raised  in  seed  beds  and  transplanted. 

To  transplant  crop  plants,  the  farmer  usually  selects  what  is  called 
a  '  season '  —  that  is,  damp,  rainy  weather  when  the  ground  and  air 
are  full  of  moisture.  In  such  weather,  transplanted  plants  are  apt 
to  hve.  In  dry  weather,  they  may  starve  for  lack  of  water  before 
their  root  systems  get  reestablished,  especially  if  the  soil  is  loose 
and  porous.  If,  however,  the  soil  is  too  wet,  air  is  excluded,  the  < 
soil  is  apt  to  '  bake,'  and  the  plants  do  not  thrive. 

EXPERIMENTS 

1 .  Transplant  a  tomato,  a  pansy,  and  other  plants,  following  carefully 
the  foregoing  suggestions. 

2.  Transplant  similar  plants,  disregarding  in  each  case  one  or  more 
of  these  suggestions.    Compare  the  results  and  explain  the  causes. 

PLANT  REPRODUCTION  FROM  SEEDS 

Budded  Plants  and  Seedlings.  —  A  plant  grown  from  a  bud  is, 
as  you  have  learned,  a  new  plant  produced  from  an  old  one.  A 
seedling,  or  plant  grown  from  a  seed,  is  usually  made  up  of  parts 
of  two  plants.  The  pistil  of  the  one  receives  pollen  from  the  other. 
From,  the  seed  thus  formed,  a  new  plant  is  produced.  There  is,  of 
course,  less  room  for  variation  in  a  budded  plant  than  in  a  seedHng, 
which  may  have  the  quahties  of  one  or  both  of  its  parents  or  even 
of  more  distant  ancestors. 

Most  of  our  crop  plants  are  grown  from  seeds.  Since  plants  are 
apt  to  resemble  those  from  which  the  seed  was  taken,  the  matter 
of  seed  selection  is  important. 


66  AGRICULTURE 

Good  Seed.  —  For  good  crops  there  are  necessary  three  things,  — 
good  soil,  good  seed,  and  good  tillage.  Of  the  three,  good  seed  is 
easiest  to  secure,  and  yet  it  is  the  one  oftenest  neglected.  Thou- 
sands of  dollars  are  lost  by  farmers  every  year  through  the  use  of 
inferior  seed.  Thousands  of  dollars  are  paid  every  year  for  Ihose 
which  could  easily  be  grown  at  home. 

Selecting  Seed  in  the  Field.  — The  farmer  should  select  the  best 
seed  from  the  best  plants.  To  do  this  he  must  make  the  selection  in 
the  field.  He  must  consider  each  plant  as  a  whole,  selecting  those 
that  are  healthy  and  productive. 

Qualities  to  Consider.  —  If  he  gets  his  seed  corn  from  the  crib, 
he  can,  it  is  true,  choose  large,  sound,  well-formed  ears.  But  these 
may  have  been  the  only  ears  on  the  stalks  on  which  they  grew. 
They  will  tend  to  produce  one-eared  stalks.  The  crop  from  them 
will  be  smaller  than  that  from  field-selected  seed,  chosen  from 
stalks  that  have  each  two  or  more  good  ears.  It  costs  little  more 
in  tillage  and  labor  to  raise  forty  bushels  of  corn  on  an  acre  of 
land  than  to  raise  twenty  bushels;  it  costs  nearly  twice  as  much  to 
produce  forty  bushels  on  two  acres  as  it  does  to  produce  it  on  one 
acre. 

Seeds  may  be  selected  from  plants  with  a  view  to  certain  qual- 
ities or  products.  We  prefer  sweet,  well-flavored  melons,  and 
choose  them  even  when  they  are  smaller  and  less  productive  than 
large,  coarse  ones.  By  careful  selection  of  roots  which  are  richest  in 
sugar,  the  sugar  in  a  crop  of  beets  has  been  increased  from  eight 
to  eighteen  per  cent. 

Some  varieties  are  especially  valuable  because  they  are  vigorous 
and  able  to  resist  disease.  In  certain  sections,  only  wilt-proof 
varieties  of  cotton  and  of  cowpeas  can  be  grown.  Farmers  sow 
rust-proof  oats  because  they  make  a,  crop  in  localities  where  va- 
rieties not  resistant  are  entire  failures. 


THE   PLANT 


67 


Earliness  of  maturity  is  another  quality  which  it  is  often  desirable 
to  cultivate,  especially  in  fruit  and  vegetables.  An  extra  early 
tomato  or  peach  is  more  profitable  as  a  market  crop  than  one  which 
ripens  a  week  or  ten  days  later. 

Seeds,  then,  should  be  selected  from  healthy, 
productive  plants  having  the  desired  qualities. 
They  should  be  dried  carefully,  stored  in  a  dry 
place,  and  protected  against  extremes  of  cold 
and  heat. 

Cleaning  Seeds.  —  Seeds  are  cleaned  by  fan- 
ning or  sifting  them  to  remove  chaff,  dirt,  weed 
seeds,  and  all  small  and  immature  seeds.  From 
large,  vigorous  seeds  a  larger  yield  of  more 
vigorous  plants  is  secured.  Seeds,  especially 
purchased  ones,  should  be  examined  for  pu'ri  ty 
and  tested  for  vi  t^l'i  ty  before  planting  in  the 
field. 

Purity.  —  Purity  means  that  they  are  seeds 
of  the  desired  kind,  free  from  dirt,  weed  seed, 
and  chaff.  Seeds  very  different  in  kind  can 
be  readily  separated.  It  is  easy  to  distin-  frol^'l  HgTAL^d  m^^^^^^^^^^ 
guish  beans  from  wheat,  or  black  peas  from  the  right  is  from  a  heavy 
white  ones.  It  is  difficult  to  distinguish  seeds  ''^^^' 
that  resemble  those  with  which  they  are  mixed,  as  chess,  or 
cheat,  and  oats,  —  or  very  small  ones,  as  some  weed  and  grass 
seeds. 

Vitality.  — Vitality  is  the  ability  of  a  seed  to  sprout  and  pro- 
duce growth.  There  are  many  things  which  affect  vitality.  Age 
is  one.  The  seeds  of  most  agricultural  plants  will  not  germinate 
after  they  are  a  few  years  old.  Seeds  that  are  gathered  before  they 
are  ripe  have  low  germinating  power.    Those  that  are  stored  in  a: 


6S 


AGRICULTURE 


damp  place  or  that  are  exposed  to  great  heat  often  have  the  germ 
injured  or  killed. 

Seed  Plots.  —  All  seeds  for  planting  should  be  carefully  selected, 
examined  for  purity,  tested  for  vitaHty,  and  planted  where   they 


Ears  of  Corn  selected  from  the  Yield  of  the  Same  Ear 

The  per  cent  of  germination  from  the  ear  on  the  left  is  loo ;  from  that  on  the  right,  50. 

This  shows  the  importance  of  testing  seed  corn  for  vitahty  before  planting. 

will  not  mix  with  other  varieties.  For  a  garden  crop  or  for  one 
planted  in  small  quantities,  this  is  all  that  is  necessary. 

For  a  field  crop  where  a  large  quantity  is  required,  it  is 
usually  best  to  have  a  seed  plot.  This  plot,  so  placed  as  to  avoid 
mixing  with  the  field  crop,  is  planted  with  choice  seed  and  given 
most  careful  cultivation.  From  its  best  plants,  seed  is  selected 
for  next  year's  seed  plot,  and  the  remainder  is  used  for  field 
planting.  The  farmer  who  thus  selects  and  raises  his  seed  does 
not  complain  of  its  '  running  out,'  Instead,  his  varieties  improve 
year  by  year,  and  the  increase  in  quantity  and  quality  of  crop- 
yield  repay  his  care  a  hundred  times. 

Purchasing  Seed. —  It  is  usually  desirable  to  purchase  seeds, 
bach  as  clover  and  grasses,  which  need  special  machinery  to  clean, 
them  and  free  them  from  chaff  and  hulls. 


THE   PLANT 


69 


Plants  that  thrive  in  a  certain  soil  or  climate  sometimes  lose 
desirable  qualities  under  different  conditions.  Certain  varieties 
of  tobacco  are  grown  in  the  United  States  from  Cuban  seed.  If 
home-grown  seed  be  used  even  one 
year,  the  flavor  and  texture  of  the 
leaf  are  changed.  It  is  sometimes 
desirable  to  buy  seed  in  order  to  in- 
fluence the  ripening  season  of  a  crop. 
In  a  warm  climate  seed  from  the 
north  mature  earlier  than  home- 
grown seed  of  the  same  variety. 
Some  Texas  farmers  buy  cotton  seed 
from  North  Carolina  in  order  to 
have  their  crop  ripen  early  before 
the  Mexican  boll  weevil  becomes 
most  injurious. 

Losses  by  Impure  Seeds.  —  In  pur- 
chasing seeds  it  is  always  economical 
to  get  high-grade,  well-cleaned  ones 
from  a  reliable  dealer.  Suppose  a 
farmer  buys  at  less  cost  an  inferior 
grade.  Sometimes  half  or  more  of 
such  seed  consists  of  impurities. 
The  farmer's  loss  is  threefold.  He 
loses  the  money  which  he  paid  out. 
He  loses  the  time,  labor,  and  money  tube  on  the  right-shows  the  good  seed, 
spent  in  cultivating  his  field.  He  loses  the  profit  which  he  might 
have  gained.    Moreover,  he  may  have  brought  in  weed  pests. 

Home-grown  Seed.  —  As  a  rule,  it  is  to  the  farmer's  interest 
to  grow  his  own  seeds.  He  is  thus  saved  much  unnecessary  ex- 
pense.    He  knows  the  kind,  quality,  and  age  of  his  seed.     He 


The  tube  on  the  left  shows  one  pound 
of  Kentucky  blue  grass  seed,  as  bought ; 
the  middle  tube  shows  the  amount  of 
dirt,  weed  seeds,  and  broken  seeds  ;  the 


fo 


AGRICULTURE 


avoids  the  risk  of  introducing  new  weed  pests.  He  gets  acclimated 
seed,  which  is  in  many  cases  an  advantage.  By  carefully  selecting 
seed  from  the  best  plants,  he  can  grade  up  and  improve  a  variety. 
Planting.  —  Depth.  —  As  you  know,  seeds  differ  much  in  size. 
This  naturally  makes  a  difference  in  the  depth  that  they  should 

be  planted.  Each 
seed  contains  a  store 
of  food  to  nourish 
the  germ  under  or- 
dinary conditions 
until  it  can  send 
forth  its  root  and 
stem  and  begin 
growth.  If  the  seed 
be  planted  too  deep, 
this  store  is  used  up 
before  the  plant  is 
well  estabhshed.  Sometimes  the  deep-planted  seed  cannot  get  air 
and  warmth  enough  to  enable  it  to  germinate  at  all. 

Some  seeds,  such  as  wheat,  come  up  with  thin  blades  and  slender 
leaves.  These  can  make  their  way  through  the  soil  more  easily  than 
thick-leaved  plants,  such  as  beans,  and  so  may  be  planted  deeper. 
Soil  Conditions.  —  Seeds  require  for  germination  a  certain 
amount  of  moisture,  heat,  and  air.  They  grow  best  when  the 
soil  around  them  is  made  fine  and  compact,  not  so  close  as  to 
exclude  air,  but  close  enough  for  the  soil  particles  to  touch 
them  and  supply  moisture.  Gardeners  often  press  small  seed 
down  with  a  board  and  trample  the  beds  in  which  larger  ones 
are  planted,  and  farmers  roll  the  land  on  which  grain  or  grass  seed 
are  sown.  They  know  that  firmly- planted  seed  come  up  in  a  shorter 
time  and  produce  stronger  plants  than  those  put  in  loose  soil. 


A  Convenient  Seed-tester 
It  consists  of  a  shallow  box,  filled  with  soil.     It  is  di- 
vided into  sections  by  a  wire  netting  with  one-inch  meshes. 


THE   PLANT 


71 


Time  of  Planting.  —  Seeds  vary  greatly  in  the  amount  of  warmth 
that  they  require  for  germination;  this  requirement  determines 
the  time  of  planting.  Cotton,  for  instance,  requires  much  heat,  and 
oats  need  Httle;  so  cotton  is  planted  late  in  spring  when  the  soil 
is  warm,  and  oats  early  in  spring  or  in  fall  when  it  is  cool.  Plants 
of  the  same  family  vary  greatly  in  this  respect.  Corn  and  wheat 
both  belong  to  the  great  cereal  family.  Corn  requires  much 
warmth ;  wheat  takes  so  little  that  it  has  been  known  to  germinate 
on  ice. 

EXPERIMENTS 


1.  Save  seed  from  your  largest  and  from  your  smallest  pansies  and 
plant  some  of  each  in  garden  mold  and  in  poor  soil.  Note  the  resulting 
differences. 

2.  Examine    a    handful    of 
wheat  for  impurities. 

3.  Make  a  seed-tester.  To 
do  this,  dip  two  pieces  of  flannel 
in  boiling  water  in  order  to  de- 
stroy mold.  Lay  one  piece  in 
a  plate  and  put  on  it  one  hun- 
dred seeds,  such  as  clover.  Put 
over  them  the  other  piece  of 
flannel  and  cover  with  another 
plate.  Add  water  when  neces- 
sary so  as  to  keep  the  flannel 
moist,  and  keep  the  seed-tester 
at  a  temperature  of  70°  to  80°. 
The  seed  will  germinate  in  a 
few  days.  The  number  which 
germinate  shows  the  per  cent  of 
vitality.  Two  pieces  of  wet  blotting  paper  may  be  used  for  a  seed- 
tester.  The  seed  is  placed  between  the  two,  and  they  are  kept  damp. 
Several  layers  of  these  can  be  kept  in  a  shallow  wooden  box. 


A  Small  Seed-tester 
A,  closed  ;  B,  open. 


72 


AGRICULTURE 


4.  Fasten  two  panes  of  glass  together  by  a  wooden  frame,  as  illustrated. 
Fill  the  box  thus  made  with  fertile  soil.  As  you  put  in  the  soil,  plant  corn 
and  beans  close  to  the  glass,  at  depths  of  four,  three,  and  two  inches,  one 
inch,  half  an  inch,  and  a  quarter  of  an  inch.  Cover  the  glass  with  dark 
paper  and  keep  in  a  warm  place.     Remove  the  paper  every  day  and 


/-- 


Illustration  of  Experiment  4 

examine  the  seeds.  What  difference  is  there  in  the  germination  of  seeds 
at  different  depths  ?  Which  plants  make  their  way  to  the  surface  from 
the  greater  depth,  corn  or  beans,  and  why? 

5.  Plant  twenty-five  morning-glory  seeds  in  a  box  of  fine  soil  and  press 
them  down  firmly  wdth  a  board.  Plant  twenty-five  seeds  in  a  box  of 
rough  soil  and  leave  it  loose.  What  difference  is  in  the  number  and 
appearance  of  plants  in  the  two  boxes  ? 

6.  Weigh  one  hundred  seeds  of  several  different  kinds,  such  as  peas, 
clover,  and  corn.  Put  them  in  water  and  weigh  again  in  twenty-four 
and  in  forty-eight  hours.  What  difference  is  there  in  weight  ?  What 
does  this  prove  as  to  the  moisture  required  in  the  germination  of  differ- 
ent kinds  of  seed? 


THE   PLANT  73 

PLANT  IMPROVEMENT 

Origin  of  Cultivated  Plants.  —  Our  cultivated  plants,  as  you 
probably  know,  originated  from  wild  ones.  These  kindred  of  our 
field  crops  exist  still  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  and  it  is  interesting 
to  compare  the  two.  In  appearance  and  in  habits  of  growth,  the 
wild  and  the  cultivated  plants  differ  as  much  as  do  savage  and 
civilized  races  of  men.  For  instance,  the  ancestor  of  most  of  our 
apple  trees  is  a  European  crab.  It  is  small  and  poorly  flavored, 
very  unlike  the  large  and  luscious  fruits  famihar  to  us.  Hundreds 
of  varieties  differing  in  habit  of  growth,  and  in  the  size,  color,  flavor, 
and  ripening  season  .of  their  fruit  have  been  developed  from  that 
insignificant-looking,  ill-flavored  crab. 

How  have  these  wonderful  changes  been  made  ?  It  has  been 
done  by  years  and  centuries  of  care  and  cultivation,  raising  plants 
from  the  best  specimens  under  the  most  favorable  conditions. 

The  Law  of  Heredity.  —  Changes  in  varieties  are  made  by  taking 
advantage  of  certain  laws  which  govern  all  living  things,  both  plants 
and  animals.  The  first  is  the  law  of  heredity,  that  '  like  begets 
like.'  Corn  produces  seed  which  brings  forth  corn,  never  by  any 
chance  wheat  or  rye.  The  product  shares  the  general,  and,  to  a 
great  extent,  the  special  characteristics  of  the  parent  plant.  If  that 
ripened  early,  so  will  this ;  if  that  was  sugar  corn,  this  will  be  sweet. 

The  Law  of  Variation.  —  You  will  notice  that  we  say  that  a 
plant  inherits  'to  a  great  extent' the  special  characteristics  of  its 
parents.  It  is  just  here  that  another  laws  comes  in,  a  law  which 
makes  progress  possible.  This  is  the  law  of  variation,  the  tendency 
of  offspring  to  be  unlike  the  parents.  If  the  plant  were  in  all 
respects  exactly  like  its  parents,  no  improvement  would  be  possible. 
Usually  variations  are  not  great,  for  the  law  of  heredity  is  very 
strong. 


74  AGRICULTURE 

selection.  —  Suppose  that  in  a  field  of  beans  you  find  four  plants 
bearing  beans  a  little  different  from  the  remainder.  One  plant 
])ears  beans  that  mature  a  day  or  two  earlier ;  the  second  has  pods 
a  little  larger  than  the  others ;  the  third  has  better-flavored  beans ; 
the  fourth  has  more  pods  than  the  others.  Suppose  you  save  seed 
from  these  plants  and  keep  and  cultivate  them  in  four  plots.  The 
second  year  you  again  select  seed,  choosing  from  the  first  the  earliest 
beans,  from  the  second  the  largest,  from  the  third  the  best-flavored, 
and  from  the  fourth  the  one  bearing  most  pods.  If  you  do  this 
year  after  year,  you  will  have  four  distinct  varieties.  By  reason- 
able care  you  can  keep  them  distinct,  thanks  to  the  strength  of  the 
law  of  heredity. 

Effect  of  Cultivation.  —  Suppose  that  in  each  case  half  your  seed 
is  planted  on  fertile,  well-tilled  soil  and  that  the  other  half  is 
planted  on  poor,  badly- cultivated  soil.  You  will  find  that  on 
the  fertile  soil  the  improvement  is  great  and  the-  variations 
decided.  On  poor  soil,  the  plants  will  have  to  use  most  of  their 
energies  to  live  and  grow,  and  have  little  left  for  improvement 
or  variation. 

Three  Methods  of  Improvement.  —  What  you  learn  from  this 
experiment  is  what  others  before  you  learned  by  observation  and 
experience  and  applied  to  the  improvement  of  plants.  The  three 
chief  ways  in  which  plants  are  improved  are  by  seed  or  bud  selection, 
by  cultivation,  and  by  crossing  and  hybridizing.  Crossing  and 
hybrid  iz  ing  give  us  new  varieties  and  even  new  species.  A  cross 
is  a  plant  obtained  by  fertihzing  one  variety  with  pollen  from  a  dif- 
ferent variety,  as  one  kind  of  pear  with  another.  A  hy'brid  is  the  off- 
spring of  two  plants  of  different  kinds,  —  as  a  blackberry  and  a 
raspberry. 

Plant  Breeders.  —  Plant  breeders,  by  selection  and  reselection 
of  seeds,  grafts,  and  cuttings,  and  by  crossing  and  hybridizing 


THE   PLANT 


75 


new  and  old  varieties,  improve  varieties  of  fruit,  vegetables,  and 
flowers,  and  create  new  ones. 

One  of  the  most  famous  plant  breeders  of  the  present  day  is 
Mr.  Luther  Burbank,  who  lives  in  California.     He  has  produced 
new  species,  among  others  the  plum' cot,  a  union  of  the  plum  and 
the   apricot,   and   the 
prJ'mus  berry,  a  union 
of   the  raspberry  and 
the  blackberry,  having 
the    general    appear- 
ance    and    combined 
flavors  of  both. 

Keeping  up  a  Vari- 
ety. — It  is  not  enough 
to  originate  a  good 
variety.  It  must  be 
kept  good  by  care  and 
attention.  All  im- 
proved varieties  tend 
to  deteriorate,  or  grow 
worse.  They  are  arti- 
ficial products,  and  the  tendency  is  to  return  to  the  state  of  nature. 
Scientists  say  they  'revert  to  type,'  or  go  back  to  the  character- 
istics of  their  wild  ancestors.  Farmers  say  the  '  seed  runs  out.' 
In  different  terms,  scientists  and  farmers  express  the  same  truth. 
•  Plant  improvement  can  easily  be  maintained  and  increased. 
First:  Seeds  or  buds  should  be  selected  from  plants  having  the 
qualities  it  is  desired  to  maintain.  Second :  Good  varieties  should 
be  protected  against  mixing  with  inferior  ones.  Third :  They  should 
be  given  such  care  and  cultivation  as  suit  them  best.  Plants  can, 
to  some  extent,  adapt  themselves  to  unfavorable  conditions  of  soil, 


From  photograph  furnished  by  Mr.  Burbank 

Plumcots 


je  AGRICULTURE 

moisture,  and  climate,  but  their  most  flourishing  and  most  profitable 
growth  is  under  favorable  conditions. 

This  work  of  plant  improvement  is  one  in  which  every  man 
and  child  on  a  farm  should  take  part.  By  selecting  buds  and 
seeds  from  the  best  specimens,  a  farmer  should  try  to  increase  the 
yield  and  improve  the  good  qualities' of  every  crop  which  he  raises. 
Every  child  can  make  interesting  experiments  which  may  result 
in  the  development  of  new  and  valuable  plants. 

EXPERIMENTS 

1.  Save  seeds  from  balsams,  or  touch-me-nots,  selecting  and  keeping 
separate  the  seeds  of  plants  bearing  the  most  and  the  least  double  blos- 
soms. If  this  process  of  selection  be  continued  two  or  three  years, 
what  is  the  result? 

2.  Compare  the  wild  onion  with  its  relative,  the  garden  onion.  What 
changes  have  been  made  by  cultivation  ? 

3.  Experiment  with  the  cross  breeding  of  corn.  Use  two  good  plants. 
Keep  the  ears  of  one  covered  with  paper  bags  until  you  are  ready  to 
pollinate  them.  Then  dust  them  with  the  tassel  from  another  good 
plant,  and  re-cover  with  the  paper  bags  for  a  few  days. 

4.  Decide  on  some  change  that  you  think  will  improve  a  certain 
plant,  and  try  to  make  it  by  seed  selection  and  cross  breeding.  Re- 
member that  these  changes  must  be  in  line  with  the  natural  develop- 
ment of  the  plant. 


OUTLINE  OF   CHAPTER   THREE 

SOIL   IMPROVEMENT 
General: 

Nature's  processes  and  man's 
Drainage ; 
Benefits: 

Gives  plants  more  room 
Mak-es  soil  warmer 

Favors  processes  which  produce  plant  food 
Makes  soil  workable  earlier 
Prevents  washing 
Methods : 
Plowing 
Surface  ditches 
Underdrains 
Terraces 
Irrigation : 
Methods 
Advantages 
Tillage : 
Benefits: 

Breaks  and  makes  fine  the  soil 
Regulates  soil  moisture 
Admits  air  and  heat  to  soil 
Destroys  weeds 
Tools  used 

In  preparing  land : 

Plow,  harrow,  roller,  etc. 
In  cultivating  crop : 

Harrow,  cultivator,  sweep,  hoe,  weeders,  etc. 
77 


78  AGRICULTURE 

In  harvesting  crop : 
Reaper,  mower,  etc. 
Methods : 

Flat,  ridge,  or  hill 

Deep,  shallow 
Crop  Rotation: 

Disadvantages  of  one-crop  system 
Advantages  of  proper  rotation : 

Money  crop  and  feed  for  live  stock  are  raised 

Nitrogen-gathering  crops  prepare  for  nitrogen-destroying  ones 

Drain  on  land  is  lessened  by  crops  of  different  habits  of  growth 

Best  use  is  made  of  manures  and  crop  residues 

Weeds,  insect  pests,  and  fungous  diseases  are  kept  in  check 

Land  being  occupied,  plant  food  is  not  wasted 

Labor  of  men  and  teams  is  as  evenly  distributed  as  possible 
Green  Manures;  Legumes  and  Soil  Inoculation: 
General  benefits  of  catch,  or  cover,  crops 
Special  advantages  of  legumes 
Stable  Manure: 
Benefits : 

Supplies  plant  food 

Makes  food  in  soil  available 

Improves  texture  and  moisture  condition  of  soil 

Warms  the  soil 
Value  depends  on 

Kind,  age,  and  food  of  animals 

Methods  of  saving  and  applying 
Sources  of  loss : 

Escape  of  liquid  matter 

Leaching  and  washing  of  rains 

Escape  of  gases  in  fermentation,  or  '  heating ' 
Composting 
Commercial  Fertilizers: 
Rules  for  use : 

Depend  mainlj  on  tillage,  crop  rotation,  and  natural  manures 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT  79 

Choose  the  commercial  fertilizers  best  and  cheapest  for  soil  and 
crop 
Nitrogen  suppliers: 

Guano,  nitrate  of  soda,  ammonia  salts,  cotton-seed  meal,  dried 
blood  and  tankage,  fish  scraps,  artificial  nitrates 
Phosphoric  acid  suppliers  : 

Guano,  bones,  phosphate  rock 
Potash  suppliers : 

Ashes,  kainit,  muriate  and  sulphate  of  potash  * 

Calcium  supplier: 

Lime 
Testing  and  mixing  fertilizers 


Results  of  Bad  Farming 
This  field  shows  the  results  of  lack  of  rotation  and  of  improper  methods  of  cultivation. 


Results  of  Good  Farming 

This  field,  not  far  from  the  above,  has  been  made  and  kept  fertile  by  rotation  of  crops 

and  proper  methods  of  cultivation. 


CHAPTER    THREE 

SOIL    IMPROVEMENT 

GENERAL 

Past  and  Present  Conditions.  — The  subject  of  soil  improvement 
was  little  considered  by  x\merican  farmers  in  early  days.  Crop 
after  crop  of  corn  and  wheat,  cotton  and  tobacco,  was  raised; 
then  fields  were  turned  out  to  '  rest ' ;  new  fields  were  subjected 
to  the  same  treatment. 

"Why  not?  "thought  the  farmer,  if  he  thought  at  all  on  the  sub- 
ject. He  was  master  of  uncleared  forests  and  untilled  valleys.  It 
seemed  no  serious  matter  to  exhaust  the  fertility,  not  merely  of  some 
fields,  but  of  whole  farms.  To  the  west  lay  vast  prairies,  their  deep 
soil  unbroken  by  the  plow.  Foolish  and  extravagant,  but  natural, 
it  was  that  the  farmers  should  take  the  cream  of  this  rich  land. 

But,  you  know,  if  we  keep  on  taking  off  cream,  after  a  while 
we  have  nothing  left  but  skim  milk.  And  from  skim  milk  we 
cannot  make  butter.  Thus  it  is  with  land.  If  we  keep  on  taking 
off  the  cream  of  its  fertility,  after  a  while  we  have  poor  land,  and 
poor  land  is  worthless  for  crop  raising. 

Nor  are  farmers  now  able  to  move  west  and  take  up  rich  new 
farms  in  place  of  poor  old  ones.  The  country  is  settled,  fertile 
lands  are  occupied,  land  values  have  increased.  It  has  become 
necessary  for  the  farmer  to  make  the  most  and  best  of  his  farm. 
And  it  is  not  the  number  of  acres  which  he  owns,  but  their  fertility, 
which  brings  him  money  and  success  and  happiness. 


82  AGRICULTURE 

Nature's  Processes.  —  How  is  a  soil  made  fertile  ?  We  have 
observed  the  processes  of  Nature.  We  have  seen  how  they  build 
up  soil  from  rock.  Left  to  themselves,  they  usually  improve  it  and 
make  it  fertile.  Frost  lines  and  mellows  it,  rain  brings  plant  food 
from  the  atmosphere,  and  chemical  changes  make  available  some 
elements  in  the  soil.  Roots  drink  in  food  from  the  surface  and 
pump  it  up  from  the  subsoil;  decaying  plants  give  to  the  soil  the 
elements  thus  gathered  and  others  derived  from  the  air.  Year 
after  year  the  barren  land,  improves;  slowly  but  surely  it  becomes 
fertile. 

Farm  Methods.  —  But  the  farmer  cannot  wait  on  the  slow 
processes  of  Nature,  nor  restore  to  the  land  all  the  fertility  of  its 
products.  His  business  is  to  take  from  it  once  a  year,  or  oftener, 
the  richest  of  these  products.  Can  he  do  this  and  not  impoverish 
it?  He  can,  if  he. will  imitate  and  aid  Nature.  The  plow  can  fine 
and  mellow  the  soil  more  quickly  than  the  frost ;  green  and  stable 
manures  can  improve  texture  and  supply  humus,  and  these  manures 
and  commercial  fertilizers  can  add  plant  food  more  rapidly  than 
do  the  methods  of  Nature. 

The  farmer  can  take  the  place  of  Nature's  reclaiming  processes 
and  protect  his  land  against  her  destroying  ones.  By  drainage 
and  irrigation  and  tillage  he  can  largely  regulate  the  supply  of 
moisture,  and  improve  the  texture  of  the  soil  and  its  relations  to 
heat  and  air.  By  proper  rotation  he  can  lessen  the  drain  of  crop- 
ping.   To  do  all  this  he  must  work  and  work  intelligently. 

The  Ideal  Soil.  — The  best  soil  for  agricultural  purposes  is  a 
loam  containing  sand,  clay,  humus,  and  lime.  The  sand  admits 
air  and  water,  the  clay  holds  moisture  and  plant  food,  the  humus 
absorbs  and  retains  moisture,  and  the  lime  assists  the  decay  of 
vegetable  matter.  This  soil  is  ideal  if  it  be  rich  in  available  plant 
food  and  has  a  well-drained  subsoil.    Most  farm  soils  have  not  this 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT  83 

nature ;  when  they  have,  they  do  not  retain  it  unless  they  are  prop- 
erly cultivated. 

Improving  Soils.  —  The  farmer  cannot  change  the  character  of 
a  soil,  but  he  can  modify  and  improve  it.  There  are  three  ways 
in  which  soils  need  to  b3  cared  for  and  improved. 

Texture.  —  First :  The  texture  should  hz  attended  to,  so  as  to  give 
plants  the  bsst  possible  conditions  with  regard  to  moisture,  air, 
and  heat.  This  is  done  by  proper  tillage  and  by  applications  of 
manures  which  supply  humus.  Humus  is  lacking  in  most  of  the 
'  run  down '  farms  of  the  East ;  it  is  abundant  in  the  fertile  prairie 
lands  of  the  West.  Lime,  too,  often  benefits  the  texture  and  con- 
dition of  land. 

Plant  Food.  —  Second :  There  should  be  supplied  the  plant  food 
which  is  naturally  lacking,  or  which  is  taken  out  by  crops.  You 
know  that  there  are  three  elements  that  sometimes  need  to  be 
supphed,  and  that  they  must  be  in  forms  which  plants  can  use. 
Nitrogen  is  used  chiefly  in  the  form  of  nitrates;  phosphorus,  of 
phos  phor'ic  acid;  and  potassium,  of  potash:  all  three  are  com- 
pounds formed  "with  oxygen. 

All  crops  do  not  remove  elements  in  the  same  amounts  or  the 
same  proportions.  Forage  crops,  for  instance,  of  which  the  stems 
and  leaves  are  used,  need  much  nitrogen  to  form  their  luxuriant 
foliage;  grain  crops  store  up  much  phosphorus  in  their  seeds. 
Legumes  are  sometimes  called  '  hme  plants '  because  they  use 
so  much  calcium,  which  is  usually  apphed  to  the  soil  in  the  form 
of  lime.  Whatever  is  taken  from  the  land  must  have  its  place 
supplied,  or  the  land  grows  poor. 

Conditions  jor  Bacteria. — Third:  Conditions  should  be  made 
favorable  for  nitrogen-gathering  bacteria.  You  have  already 
learned  that  these  tiny  creatures  in  the  soil  change  nitrogen  into 
compounds  which  plants  can  use.    These  bacteria  will  not  work 


84. 


AGRICULTURE 


unless  they  have  food,  warmth,  air,  and  moisture,  and  are  protected 
from  strong  light.  In  poorly- drained  soils,  there  thrive  harmful 
bacteria  which  consume  nitrogen  and  make  the  soil  acid  and  unfit 
for  plant  life. 

Common  sense  —  and  it  is  nowhere  more  important  to  listen 
to  its  voice  than  on  the  farm — will  tell  you  that  as  soils  differ  in 
character,  they  need  different  treatment.  Each  kind  has  its  special 
natural  defects  and  adaptations,  of  which  you  have  already  learned 
something. 


w 

M 

i^^jJL  "V  p 

'^Sh^Sm 

M 

M 

J^^i 

^a^ 

Clay  Loam  Sand 

The  Texture  and  Relative  Sizes  of  Soil  Grains 


Improving  Sandy  Soils.  —  On  account  of  the  size  of  its  particles, 
a  coarse,  sandy  soil  has  httle  power  to  hold  moisture  and  plant  food. 
Elements  needed  by  plants  are  often  dissolved  by  rain  water  and 
leached  or  washed  out.    In  dry  weather,  its  crops  suffer  for  moisture. 

What  can  a  farmer  do  to  improve  a  sandy  soil  ?  If  it  be  not  too  dry 
and  coarse,  he  can  make  it  very  productive,  for  it  responds  quickly 
to  good  tillage  and  fertihzing.  It  needs  to  be  kept  compact  by 
rolling  and  other  methods  of  cultivation.  It  needs  to  have  its 
soil  spaces  filled  with  humus  so  as  to  enable  it  to  hold  food  and 
moisture:  this  is  best  done  by  applying  green  manures  and  well- 
rotted  stable  manure.  It  needs  to  have  its  losses  of  plant  food 
supplied  by  application  of  manures  and  commercial  fertilizers. 

Improving  Clay  Soils.  —  In  a  clay  soil  the  texture  is  often  too 
close.     Water  runs  off  its  surface,  and  plant  food  and  moisture  are. 


SOIL  IMPROVEMENT 


85 


Clay  soil  plowed  when 
too  dry ;  it  is  hard  and 
cloddy. 


not  readily  available  in  it.  Its  crops  suffer  from  both  wet  and  dry 
weather,  —  from  wet  because  water  stands  on  it  and  drowns  the 
plants,  from  dry  because  water  does  not  rise  freely  in  it  and  because 
it  becomes  so  hard  that  roots  cannot  penetrate  it. 

How  can  its  faults  be  corrected?  If  it  be  low,  it  needs  to  be 
drained  to  remove  surplus  water.  Then  it  needs  to  be  made  more 
open  and  porous  by  appHcations  of  lime,  green 
manures,  and  coarse  stable  manure.  It  is  espe- 
cially important  for  clay  soils  to  be  worked 
when  in  proper  condition,  for  they  are  injured 
by  tillage  when  too  wet  or  too  dry.  They  are 
improved  by  being  '  put  down  '  in  grass,  both 
to  avoid  tillage  and  to  increase  their  store  of 
plant  food.  Clay  soils  retain  manures  and  fer- 
tihzers  better  than  do  sandy  ones. 

Improving  Loams.  —  A  loam,  especially  a  limestone  loam^^  is 
naturally  a  good  farm  soil.  It  can  be  kept  so  by  proper  tillage 
and  by  returning  to  it  the  humus  and  plant  food  removed  by 
cropping. 

Reclaiming  Alkali  and  Swamp  Lands.  —  On  alkali  lands,  as 
you  have  learned,  there  are  deposits  of  mineral  salts.  These  salts 
are  brought  to  the  surface  by  capillary  attraction,  and  the  rainfall 
is  not  sufficient  to  drain  them  off.  Such  soils  need  irrigation, 
drainage,  and  deep  plowing  to  free  them  from  these  salts. 

Swamp  soils  are  generally  of  good  texture  and  rich  in  plant  food; 
if  reheved  of  surplus  water,  they  are  very  productive. 

EXERCISE 


I.  In  the  exercises  under  Drainage,  Irrigation,  Tillage,  Crop  Rotation, 
Green  Manures,  Stable  Manures,  and  Commercial  Fertilizers,  there  are 
suggested  experiments  which  show  methods  of  improving  soils. 


S6  AGRICULTURE 

2.  Observe  the  methods  used  on  farms  in  your  locality.  Compare  the 
methods  used  by  successful  and  Unsuccessful  farmers. 

3.  Put  a  layer  of  salt  about  one  fourth  of  an  inch  thick  in  the  bottom 
of  a  pan  and  cover  it  with  wet  sand  to  the  depth  of  two  or  three  inches. 
Set  the  pan  in  the  sun  till  the  sand  is  dry.  What  do  you  find  on  the  sur- 
face ?  Put  the  top  layer  of  sand  in  a  glass  of  water ;  let  it  settle,  and  taste 
the  water.  Put  similar  layers  of  salt  and  sand  in  a  pan  having  a  bottom 
of  wire  gauze  over  which  is  put  a  cloth.  Pour  water  on  this  frequently 
and  allow  it  to  drain  off.  Then  dry  the  sand  and  compare  with  the  other. 
What  do  these  experiments  show  as  to  the  formation  and  reclamation 
of  alkali  lands  ? 


DRAINAGE 

Reclaiming  Land  by  Drainage.  —  Nothing  is  of  more  importance 
to  a  crop  than  the  regulation  of  soil  moisture.  If  there  be  too  little, 
the  plants  perish  for  want  of  water;  if  too  much,  they  starve  for 
lack  of  air  to  the  roots.  In  low  sections  and  in  regions  of  heavy 
rainfall,  one  of  the  chief  problems  is  how  to  dispose  of  surplus 
moisture.  It  is-  often  necessary  to  drain  these  lands, — that  is,  to 
carry  off  the  water  by  drains  or  ditches. 

Holland  is  a  striking  instance  of  the  extensive  and  profitable 
use  of  drainage.  By  dikes  and  ditches,  thousands  of  acres  have 
been  reclaimed  from  the  sea.  Their  products  every  year  are 
worth  millions  of  dollars.  Our  government  has  spent  over  ten 
million  dollars  in  dikes  and  jetties,  to  drain  and  protect  the  lower 
Mississippi  Valley. 

Farm  Drainage.  —  Farm  drainage,  which  we  are  now  consider- 
ing, deals  chiefly  with  the  removal  of  free,  or  standing,  water  from 
wet  fields.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States,  there  are 
over  a  hundred  thousand  square  miles  which  need  drainage. 
These  swamp  and  bottom  lands  are  well  supplied  with  plant  food, 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT  8/ 

and  need  only  to  have  the  surplus  water  removed  to  make  them  very 
productive. 

Benefits  of  Drainage.  —  Let  us  consider  some  of  the  ways  in 
which  drainage  benefits  soils  and  crops. 

First:  Drainage  gives  plant  roots  more  room.  The  roots  of  few 
agricultural  plants  can  penetrate  airless,  water-filled  soil.  As 
water  is  drawn  off,  air  is  admitted.  The  plants  are  not  drowned 
by  standing  water  in  wet  weather ;  in  dry  weather  they  have  the 
advantage  of  larger  areas  from  which  to  collect  food  and  water. 

Second:  Drainage  makes  the  soil  warmer.  In  wet  soils  a  large 
part  of  the  heat  waves  are  used  to  convert  the  surplus  water  into 
vapor.  On  these  cool,  wet  lands,  plants  grow  slowly.  Drainage 
lessens  evaporation  by  drawing  off  the  surplus  water;  it  also  warms 
the  soil  by  admitting  air. 

Third:  Drainage,  by  warming  the  soil  and  admitting  air,  favors 
processes  which  produce  plant  food.  As  you  learned,  bacteria 
which  prepare  nitrogen  for  plant  use  work  best  in  warm,  rich, 
moist,  well-drained  soils.  In  wet,  ill-drained  land,  bacteria  thrive 
which  destroy  nitrogen  and  form  acids  injurious  to  crops. 

Fourth:  Drainage,  by  drying  the  soil,  makes  it  workable  earlier 
in  the  spring.  Crops  can  be  planted  earher,  and  thus* get  the  benefit^ 
of  a  longer,  and  usually  of  a  more  favorable,  growing  season. 

Fifth:  Drainage  prevents  washing  on  light  and  rolling  land. 
The  particles  of  such  soils  do  not  adhere  closely,  and  heavy  rains 
carry  away  the  plant  food  and  even  the  soil  itself.  Have  you 
not  seen  thin,  unproductive  hillsides  scarred  with  gullies  ?  Fring- 
ing these  hills  is  often  a  rank  growth  of  weeds  and  briers,  which 
shows  where  their  fertility  has  gone. 

Methods  of  Drainage.  —  Sandy  and  light  soils  are  naturally 
drained,  unless  the  water  table  is  near  the  surface.  Clay  soils 
and  those  with  clay  subsoil  often  need  artificial  drainage. 


88 


AGRICULTURE 


Plowing.  —  Wet  land  may  be  drained  to  some  extent  by  deep 
plowing.    It  should  be  thrown  up  in  narrow  *  lands,'  or  ridges,  from 

twenty  to  sixty 
feet  wide.  The 
'  dead '  or  finish- 
ing  furrows 
should  be  con- 
nected by  cross 
furrows  running 

On  the  left  is  a  tile  drain  in  place ;  on  the  right  is  a  section  not  yet   „     „  g  I     CarrV  off 
covered. 

the  water. 

Ditches  and  Underdrains.  —  Where  there  is  too  much  water  to 
be  disposed  of  by  deep  plowing  and  water  furrows,  surface  ditches 
or  underdrains  should  be  used.  All  drains  should  be  large  enough 
to  carry  off  the  surplus  water  and  should  lead  gradually  to  the 
lowest  part  of  the  field. 

Open  ditches  are  cheaper,  but  less  satisfactory,  than  under- 
drains. They  carry  off  in  the 
water  much  plant  food  and  fine 
particles  of  fertile  soil,  and  they 
interfere  with  the  cultivation  of 
land.  Where  it  is  necessary  to 
use  them,  they  should  be  broad, 
with  sloping  sides,  so  that  the 
farmer  can  cross  them  with  his 
team. 

The  best  underdrains  are  tiles, 
tubes  made  of  clay.     They  are 
out  of  reach  of  the  plow .  do  not 
fill  up  like  surface   ditches,  and  take  off  surplus   water,   without 
carrying  off  fine  particles  of  soil.    Good  substitutes  for  tile  drains 


An  underdrain  made  with  stones  covered 
with  earth 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT 


89 


are  made  by  digging  ditches  as  deep  as  needed,  putting  in  a  layer 
of  loose  stones  or  brush,  and  then  filling  them  with  earth. 


Land  Terraced  to  Prevent  Soil  Washing 


Hillside  Ditches  and  Terraces. 
—  Sandy,  rolhng  land  which  does 
not  suffer  from  standing  water 
often  needs  to  be  protected 
against  washing  rains.  It  should 
be  terraced  so  as  to  break  long, 
downward  slopes,  or  ditched  with 
broad,  shallow  ditches  which 
lead  gradually  to  the  lower 
ground. 

Hillside  land  should  be 
plowed  deep,  and  cultivating 
tools  should  run  as  near  on  a 
level  as  possible.  It  is  often  :i 
good  plan  to  put  thin  hillsides 
down  in  grass  or  to  leave  them 


Soil  wasiung  caused  oy  harrowing  up  and 
down  a  hill,  instead  of  around  it 


90  AGRICULTURE 

for  woodland.  The  roots  bind  the  soil  together  and  prevent 
washing. 

As  a  rule,  shallow  plowed  land  washes  most,  unplowed  land 
less,  and  deep  plowed  land  least  of  all. 

EXERCISE 

1.  Take  two  thrifty  plants  of  the  same  kind  and  as  near  the  same  size 
as  you  can  get.  Set  one  in  a  glass  jar  filled  with  moist,  mellow  soil ; 
set  the  other  in  a  flowerpot  of  similar  soil,  with  a  layer  of  gravel  at  the 
bottom.  Water  equally  and  observe  the  results  on  growth.  In  three  or 
four  weeks  soak  the  soil  away,  and  examine  the  root  development  of 
each  plant. 

2.  Grow  timothy  and  alfalfa  in  flowerpots.  Set  these  pots  in  pails 
of  water  deep  enough  to  cover  their  tops.  Which  plant  suffers  more 
from  lack  of  drainage? 

IRRIGATION 

Arid  and  Semi-arid  Region.  —  A  soil  may  contain  abundant  plant 
food  but  be  unproductive  because  moisture  is  lacking.  This  is 
the  case  in  the  arid  and  semi-arid  region  of  the  United  States, 
which  lies  between  the  ninety-fifth  meridian  and  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  extends  from  Canada  almost  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It 
includes  all  or  part  of  the  states  of  Arizona,  California,  Colorado, 
Idaho,  Kansas,  Montana,  Nebraska,  Nevada,  New  Mexico,  North 
Dakota,  Oklahoma,  Oregon,  South  Dakota,  Utah,  Texas,  Washing- 
ton, and  Wyoming,  —  a  vast  region  of  three  hundred  million  acres 
of  land.  The  ocean  breezes  are  deprived  of  moisture  by  the  moun- 
tains and  plains  to  the  east  and  west,  and  come  dry  and  parched  to 
this  Great  Basin. 

'  Uneven  Rainfall.  —  Where  the  rainfall  is  abundant  or  excessive, 
it  may  be  so  uneven  as  to  allow  the  crops  to  suffer  for  moisture. 
In  parts  of  Florida  where  the  yearly  rainfall  is  sixty  or  seventy 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT  91 

inches,  crops  often  suffer  for  lack  of  rain  during  the  growing  season. 
Droughts  are  becoming  more  frequent  and  prolonged  in  many 
of  the  eastern  states  on  account  of  the  destruction  of  the  forests, 
which  are  Nature's  reservoirs  of  moisture. 

Irrigation.  —  Crops  are  protected  against  scanty  or  uneven  rain- 
fall by  irrigation.     Irrigation  is  a  system  of  distribution  of  water 


Irrigating  Alfalfa  by  the  Furrow  System 

On  this  western  field,  alfalfa  is  irrigated  after  each  cutting;  there  are  sometimes  as  many 
as  six  cuttings  a  year. 

to  crops,  by  means  of  canals  and  reservoirs  connected  with  streams 
or  lakes.  Irrigation  is  not  a  modern  invention.  It  was  practiced 
in  Egypt  and  in  India  thousands  of  years  ago.  When  the  Span- 
iards first  came  to  America,  they  found  Mexico  and  Peru  irrigated 
by  vast  systems  of  canals. 

Our  government  is  spending  millions  of  dollars  in  irrigating 
the  arid  states.  Much  of  this  land  was  once  a  barren  waste  dotted 
with  stunted  sagebrush  and  cacti,  the  home  of  prairie  dogs  and 


92 


AGRICULTURE 


rattlesnakes.  Where  the  hfe-giving  water  has  been  distributed, 
it  is  now  fair  with  farmhouses,  pleasant  gardens,  and  fertile 
fields. 

Arid  Soils.  —  The  irrigated  land  of  the  arid  states  is  very  valuable 
for  agricultural  purposes.  It  is  a  light,  sandy,  or  silty,  loam,  which 
absorbs  water  freely,  parts  with  it  slowly  by  evaporation,  yet  yields 
it  regularly  and  freely  to  plants.  Instead  of  changing,  as  most 
soils  do,  at  a  depth  of  a  few  inches  to  a  subsoil  of  different  character, 
it  is  almost  the  same  for  twenty  or  thirty  feet.  The  soils  in  humid 
regions  dry  hard,  with  a  surface  crust;  these  arid  soils  dry  loose, 
forming  a  natural  soil-mulch. 

The  weather  is  a  great  and  usually  an  uncertain  factor  in  crop 
production.  In  irrigated  arid  lands,  this  is  not  the  case.  The 
farmer  turns  on  the  water  when  his  crop  needs  it,  and  the  plants 
are  sure  to  get  the  moisture  they  need,  no  more,  no  less.  As  there 
is  no  danger  of  rain  during  harvest  season,  grain  is  often  allowed 
to  ripen  on  the  stalk;  it  is  harvested  by  a  combined  steam  harvester 
and  thresher,  and  carried  from  the  fields  in  bags,  ready  for  the 
mill. 

EXERCISE 


I.  Fill  a  shallow  box  with  dry  soil.     Bore  a  hole  on  one  side  near  the 
center.     Make  a  trench  across  the  middle  of  the  soil  and  pour  water 

slowly  in  till  it  runs  out  at  the 
hole.  Remove  the  soil  next  to  the 
trench  and  see  how  moisture  has 
spread  by  capillary  action.  This 
is  the  principle  upon  which  irri- 
gation is  based. 

Illustration  of  Experiment  i  t^  i  ^  i       i 

2.  Do  you  know  of  any  land 

that  usually  or  often  suffers  from  lack  of  water?     Do  you  think   it 
could  be  irrigated  profitably?     Give  reasons  for  your  opinion. 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT 


TILLAGE 


93 


Crop  Increase  by  Tillage.  —  On  a  certain  farm  the  average  yield 
of  wheat  was  sixteen  bushels  to  the  acre.  This  did  not  satisfy 
the  farmer.  He  was  tilling  his  fields  as  well  as  his  neighbors,  but 
he  began  to  till  them  better.  By  thorough  and  proper  cultivation, 
unaided  by  manures  or  fertihzers,  his  farm  w^as  made  to  produce 
thirty-four  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre  instead  of  sixteen.  How 
did  tillage  more  than  double  the  crop  yield  ?  To  understand  this, 
we  must  consider  the  purposes  and  results  of  tillage. 

Benefits  of  Tillage.  —  First:  Tillage  breaks  and  makes  fine  the 
soil,  thus  opening  it  to  plant  roots.  At  first  there  is  no  close  con- 
nection between  soil  and  plant.  Until  it  can  connect  itself  with 
the  soil,  the  young  plant  lives  on  the  food  stored  in  its  seed  or  in  its 
stem.  If  its  tender  young  roots  come  in  contact  with  clods  and 
hard  soil,  their  progress  is  checked  or  delayed.  They  have  such 
a  narrow  area  from  which  to  collect  food  and  water  that  the  plant 
grows  slowly  or  dies  of  starvation.  But  if  the  soil  be  fine,  deep, 
and  well-drained,  the  roots  range  freely  to  collect  food  and  moisture, 
and  the  plant  grows  strong  and  thrifty.  The  finer  the  soil,  if  not 
too  compact,  the  larger  is  the  feeding-ground  and  water-range 
of  the  plant. 

Second:  Tillage  regulates  the  soil  moisture.  Rain,  falling  on  a 
loose,  broken  surface,  sinks  in  instead  of  running  off.  In  fine, 
deeply-broken  soil,  water  is  held  as  in  a  sponge.  This  deep  tillage 
should  be  followed  by  shallow  tillage.  As  before  explained,  a 
loose,  dry  soil- mulch  on  the  surface  prevents  the  escape  of  moisture 
by  capillarity  and  evaporation.  A  well-tilled  soil  also  absorbs  more 
moisture  from  the  air  than  a  hard  or  rough  one. 

Third :  Tillage  admits  air  and  heat  to  the  soil.     You  have  learned 


94 


AGRICULTURE 


how  necessary  air  is  to  the  roots  of  plants,  and  to  the  processes 
that  form  plant  food  from  the  elements  in  the  soil.  Tillage  extends 
these  processes  to  a  greater  depth  and  hastens  the  decay  of  organic 
matter. 

Fourth:  Tillage  destroys  weeds.  Weeds  are  stronger  and 
more  vigorous  than  most  agricultural  plants;  they  should  be  de- 
stroyed while  young  to  keep  them  from  depriving  the  crops  of  food, 

water,  and  sun- 
light. 

The  Plow.  — 
The  plow  is  the 
first  and  the 
most  important 
implement  of  the 
farmer.  It  cuts, 
inverts,  and 
roughly  pulver- 
izes the  soil.  It  opens  the  land  to  frost,  sunhght,  air,  and  moisture 
and  prepares  it  for  the  crops. 

Time  to  Plow.  —  The  best  time  to  break  up  land  with  the  plow 
depends  on  soil,  climate,  and  crops.  As  a  rule,  it  is  well  to  plow 
clay  soil  in  fall  or  winter,  especially  in  cold  climates  where  the 
land  freezes  and  does  not  wash.  The  texture  is  improved  by  it, 
and  there  are  destroyed  many  harmful  insects  which  winter  in  the 
soil.  Fall  plowing  also  lessens  the  burden  and  rush  of  spring 
work.  In  warm  climates  and  on  light  soils,  fall-plov/ed  land  needs 
to  be  protected  against  washing,  leaching  rains,  by  a  cover  crop 
of  grain  or  clover. 

Fall  or  winter  plowed  land  should  be  cultivated  as  early  as 
possible  in  the  spring.  This  prevents  loss  by  evaporation  of  the 
winter  store  of  moisture,  and  enables  the  crop  to  get  the  benefit 


A  Good  Plow 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT 


95 


of  it.  If  this  moisture  be  allowed  to  escape  before  a  crop  is  planted, 
the  crop  is  apt  to  suffer  in,  summer,  especially  on  light,  upland  soils. 

Condition  of  Soil.  —  At  whatever  season  plowing  is  done,  the 
soil  should  be  in  good  condition,  neither  too  wet  nor  too  dry. 
When  in  condition  for  plowing,  the  furrow-slice  breaks  and  roughly 
pulverizes  the  soil.  If  too  wet.  soil,  especially  clay,  *  bakes,' 
or  dries  hard;  if  too  dry,  it  breaks  in 
large  clods  instead  of  pulverizing.  In 
either  baked  or  cloddy  land,  much  of 
the  plant  food  is  unavailable.  The 
texture  of  the  soil  and  its  relations 
to  moisture  and  plant  food  are  often 
influenced  for  months  by  one  day's 
plowing. 

Depth  oj  Plowing.  —  The  depth  of 
plowing  is  determined  largely  by  soil, 
season,  crop,  and  rainfall.   As  a  rule, 
fall  and  summer  plow- 
ing should  be  deep,  and 
spring  plowing  shallow. 
Land    in   a   region    of 
scanty    rainfall    needs 
shallow  cultivation.    So 
does   thin   soil   until  it 
can  be    improved   and 
deepened.       Usually, 

however,    shallow   culti-    The  piant  on  the  left  was  grown  in  subsoil ;  the  p'lant  on 
j'  11  the  right,  in  soil  from  the  same  field. 

vation  means  poor  land,  ^ 

poor  crop,  and  poor  farmer.  On  deep-plowed  land,  crops  flourish 
in  dry  weather  because  they  are  stronger  and  have  deeper  root 
range;  they  flourish  in  wet  weather  because   drainage  is  better. 


96 


AGRICULTURE 


As  we  learned,  depth  of  plowing  and  direction  of  furrow  do  much 
to  drain  land  and  also  to  prevent  washing. 

Some  farmers  work  as  if  only  four  inches  of  the  top  soil  be- 
longed' to  them  and  they  were  afraid  of  robbing  some  one  below. 
If  they  would  cultivate  the  soil  well  to  a  depth  of  eight  inches,  it 
would  produce  much  larger  crops  at  little  more  expense. 

A  shallow  soil  should  be  deepened  gradually,  an  inch  at  a  time, 
until  its  depth  is  nine  or  ten  inches.  It  is  important  that  the 
process  be  gradual;  productiveness  is  lessened  by  bringing  to  the 
surface  a  large  amount  of  the  subsoil,  because  the  plant  food  in 
it  is  unavailable. 

It  is  generally  a  bad  plan  to  plow  land  the  same  depth  year  after 
year.  The  plow,  as  it  hfts  the  furrow-slice,  presses  the  soil  together 
at  the  bottom  of  the  furrow.  In  land  plowed  the  same  depth  for 
several  years,  a  hard,  close  layer  is  formed,  called  the  '  plow  pan.' 
This  is  injurious  in  most  soils.  The  surface  soil  is  apt  to  wash 
off,  and  the  hard  lower  soil  does  not  freely  admit  roots  and  moisture. 

Subsoiling.  — 
The  subsoil  plow 
is  one  which 
loosens  the  lower 
soil  and,  without 
bringing  it  to  the 
surface,  opens  it 
to  air,  moisture, 
and  roots.  Some 
good  farmers  ap- 
prove and  prac- 
tice subsoiling.  Others  say  that  few  soils  require  or  repay  the 
labor.  They  think  that  it  is  better  to  loosen  the  lower  soil  by 
deep  plowing  with  large  plows  drawn  by  heavy  teams,  by  under- 
drains,  and  by  clover  and  root  crops. 


A  Good  Subsoil  Plow 


SOIL    IMPROVEMENT 


97 


A  Good  Harrow 


The  Harrow.  —  In  the  preparation  of  land  for  a  crop,  the  plow 

is  usually  followed  by  the  harrow  or  drag.    The  chief  office  of  the 

harrow  is   to   pulverize 

finely  the   surface   soil. 

It  secures  a  fine,  even 

surface  free  from  clods, 

prepares  a  shallow  seed  ' 

bed,  covers  seeds,  and 

destroys  weeds. 

The  Roller.  —  On  land  which  has  been  seeded  in  grain  or  grass, 

the  roller  often  follows  the  plow  and  the  harrow.     Farmers  claim 

that  its  use  gives  a  bet- 
ter stand  and  larger 
yield.  Rolling  compacts 
the  soil.  It  makes  the 
soil-spaces  smaller,  and 
causes  water  to  rise  by 
capillarity.  Thus  seeds 
are  better  supplied  with 
A  Good  Roller  moisture  ;   they   germi- 

nate more  quickly,  and  form  stronger  plants. 

Sometimes,    to    avoid    leaving   the    surface'  too   compact,    the 

roller  is  followed  after 

a  time  by  the  harrow  to 

admit  air  and  to  form 

a  soil-mulch. 

Purposes  of  Crop  Cul- 
tivation.— After  the  soil 

is  prepared  with  plow, 

harrow,  and  roller,  and 

the  crop  is  planted,  cultivation  is  continued  with  harrow,  hoe,  and 

other  tools.     Why  do  we  cultivate  the  growing  crops  ? 


^JWL»^K£jCT^ 


On  the  left  the  soil  is  compacted  by  rolling;  on  the 
right  the  roller  has  been  followed  by  the  harrow,  to 
form  a  soil-mulch. 


98  AGRICULTURE 

First:  To  keep  a  soil-mulch  on  the  surface  and  to  prevent,  as 
far  as  possible,  loss  of  soil  water  by  evaporation. 

Second :  To  admit  air  to  nourish  the  plant  roots  and  to  prepare 
plant  food. 

Third:  To  destroy  weeds  in  order  to  prevent  their  robbing  the 
plants  of  food  and  water. 

Deep  and  Shallow  Cultivation.  — The  plowing  and  preparation 
of  land  should  be  deep  and  thorough.  After  the  crop  is  planted, 
it  is  seldom  wise  to  use  deep  cultivation.  It  dries  the  soil  too  far 
down  and  breaks  plant  roots.  Flat,  shallow  cultivation  is  usually 
much  better.    The  surface  soil  should  be  kept  pulverized. 

Flat  and  Ridge  Cultivation.  —  Good  farmers  say  that  the  best 
tools  for  crop  cultivation  are  cultivators  and  weeders  with  small 
teeth  that  leave  the  surface  smooth.  This  protects  the  land  against 
loss  of  moisture  by  evaporation  and  against  leaching,  washing 
rains.  On  cold,  wet  soils,  hill  or  ridge  cultivation  is  of  advantage. 
As  more  surface  is  exposed,  evaporation  is  more  rapid.  The  rows 
between  the  ridges  also  act  as  ditches  to  carry  off  surplus  water. 

Time.  —  Cultivation  is  most  beneficial  in  the  early  stages  of 
crop  growth.  No  amount  of  care  or  work  later  can  make  up  for 
neglect  or  improper  tillage  at  first.  In  order  to  prevent  the  for- 
mation of  a  surface  crust,  a  crop  should  be  cultivated  as  soon  after 
rain  as  is  possible  without  injury  to  the  soil. 

EXERCISE 

I.  Lay  off  three  plots  side  by  side.  In  the  first,  break  the  soil  to  a 
depth  of  three  or  four  inches,  plant  corn  in  the  rough,  loose  soil,  and 
do  not  cultivate.  In  the  second  plot,  break  the  soil  about  six  inches 
deep,  plant  corn,  and  cultivate  three  times  to  a  depth  of  about  four 
inches,  as  is  done  by  some  farmers  who  use  a  plow.  In  the  third  plot, 
break  the  soil  at  least  ten  inches  deep,  make  it  fine,  plant  corn,  and 
cultivate  the  surface  soil  not  deeper  than  two  inches  after  each  rain,  so  as 


Preparing  for  a  Poor  Crop  by  Shallow  Plowing 


Preparing  for  a  Good  Crop  by  Deep  Plowing 


lOO  AGRICULTURE 

to  keep  a  crust  from  forming.     Compare  the  growth  and  yield  of  the 
corn  in  the  three  plots. 

2.  Just  after  you  cultivate  the  second  plot,  carefully  remove  the  soil 
from  the  roots  of  a  plant  in  each  plot  and  examine  them. 

3.  Fill  one  flowerpot  with  wet,  packed  clay,  and  one  with  the  same 
kind  of  soil  in  good  condition.  Set  in  each  a  geranium  or  other  plant, 
and  water  and  care  for  both  in  the  same  way.  Is  there  any  difference  in 
the  growth  of  the  two  ? 

4.  Examine  and  compare  the  plowing  of  farmers  in  your  neighbor- 
hood. Are  straight  furrows  better  than  crooked  ones?  If  so,  why? 
What  is  the  disadvantage  of  a  very  wide  furrow-slice?  of  a  very 
narrow  one?     Why  should  the  furrow-slice  be  inverted? 

5.  Compare  the  tools  and  methods  used  by  different  farmers  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  same  crop.     Tell  which  you  prefer,  and  why. 

CROP  ROTATION 

One-crop  System.  —  In  many  sections,  as  in  the  grain  states 
of  the  West  and  the  cotton  states  of  the  South,  the  one-crop  system 
is  practiced.  Farmers  rely  on  a  certain  staple  for  their  money  crop. 
In  this,  all  available  land  is  planted  year  after  year.  This  cropping 
is  continued  as  long  as  the  land  yields  profitable  crops  —  often 
longer.  There  are  prairie  farms  which  have  been  in  corn  thirty 
years.  Acres  which  once  produced  seventy-five  bushels  of  grain 
now  grudgingly  yield  fifteen,  but  spring  after  spring  sees  them 
plowed  and  planted  again  in  corn. 

Generally,  however,  the  soil  will  not  bear  this  continuous  crop- 
ping, and  it  is  left  out  every  two  or  three  years  to  '  rest,'  as  it  is 
called.  The  processes  of  nature  to  some  extent  restore  its  wasted 
fertility,  but  sooner  or  later  its  crops  cease  to  repay  the  labor 
of  production.  Then  the  land  is  left  to  wash  in  gullies  or  to 
grow  up  in  weeds  and  bushes.  There  are  thousands  and  thousand^ 
of  acres  of  this  '  run  down  '  land  in  the  United  States, 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT  lOl 

Disadvantages  of  One-crop  System.  —  In  nearly  all  sections, 
the  one-crop  system  is  being  abandoned  by  good  farmers.  It  is  bad 
for  the  farmer  and  worse  for  the  farm. 

The  farmer  risks  everything  for  the  year  on  the  success  or  failure 
of  one  crop.  On  its  profits  he  has  to  run  his  farm  a  whole  year. 
A  scanty  harvest  or  a  crop  failure  leaves  him  without  funds  for 
the  expense  of  a  second  year.  One-crop  farmers  are  often  poor. 
In  the  grain  states  of  the  West  they  mortgage  their  land,  in  the 
cotton  states  of  the  South  they  mortgage  their  crops,  —  and  bear 
year  after  year  the  burden  of  debt. 

The  one-crop  farm,  like  the  one-crop  farmer,  is  often  poor. 
Slowly  or  rapidly  its  plant  food  is  exhausted  and  its  texture  in- 
jured by  the  constant  drain  of  the  same  crop  and  the  same  methods 
of  cultivation. 

If  lands  are  to  regain,  keep,  and  increase  fertility,  rotation  of 
crops  must  be  practiced.  This  means  that  crops  must  be  changed 
and  must  follow  one  another  according  to  a  certain  system.  Nature 
practices  rotation.  We  see  the  place  of  field  grasses  gradually 
taken  by  pines;  when  the  pines  are  cut  they  are  followed,  not  by 
pines,  but  by  oak  and  other  hardwood  trees. 

Let  us  look  into  this  subject  of  crop  rotation. 

Cotton  as  the  One  Crop.  —  Here,  for  instance,  is  an  upland  farm 
on  which  cotton  has  been  raised  year  after  year.  The  land  is  poor 
and  yields  a  scanty  crop.  The  soil  is  fight  in  color  and  we  find 
that  it  is  lacking  in  humus.  No  wonder.  It  never  receives  any 
vegetable  matter  except  the  stalks  and  leaves  of  the  cotton,  or 
what  is  left  of  them  by  the  cattle  that '  pick  up  a  living  '  in  the  fields 
in  winter.  Cotton  is  a  rather  weak-feeding  plant,  and  it  uses 
chiefly  the  plant  food  in  the  upper  soil;  some  plant  food  is  taken 
away  in  the  cotton  seed,  and  more  is  removed  by  air  and  water 
from   the   soil  left   bare   during   the   winter.      Xu  iunplythese 


102  AGRICULTURE 

losses  and  keep  on  raising  cotton,  the  farmer  must  buy  ferti- 
lizers. 

He  will  tell  you  that  his  crop  is  subject  to  disease  and  insect 
pests,  nor  is  it  strange  that  they  breed  in  the  fields  where  the  plant 
on  which  they  feed  grows  year  after  year.  The  farmer  will  tell 
you  that  he  has  trouble  about  labor,  too.  He  cannot  afford 
to  keep  all  the  year  as  many  laborers  as  he  needs  at  certain  times, 
especially  during  the  cotton-picking  season,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
get  them  when  needed.  Probably  he  cannot  tell  you  his  exact 
expenses,  but  he  knows  that  they  are  heavy  and  his  profits  small. 
In  addition  to  paying  laborers  and  buying  fertiHzers,  often  he  has 
to  buy  feed  for  his  horses  and  mules;  these  must  be  kept  all  the 
year,  though  they  are  not  busy  one  fourth  of  the  tinie. 

If  you  ask  this  farmer  why  he  does  not  plant  less  land  in  cotton, 
he  looks  at  you  in  amazement.  He  answers  that  he  would  like 
to  plant  more ;  it  is  hard  to  get  on  as  things  are,  and  he  could  not 
make  expenses  if  he  planted  less. 

Let  us  see. 

Cotton  in  a  Rotation.  —  The  farm  adjoining  this  has  the  same 
natural  conditions,  but  luxuriant  crops  grow  on  its  fertile  soil. 
One  important  element  of  its  owner's  success  is  his  well-planned 
rotation  of  crops.  His  tilled  land  is  divided  into  three  parts, 
or  '  shifts,'  as  farmers  call  them.  On  one  he  plants  cotton,  on 
one  corn,  on  one  cowpeas  are  drilled  or  sowed.  These  crops 
require  planting  and  cultivating  at  different  times,  and  so  there 
is  Hghter  and  more  constant  work  for  man  and  team.  Oats 
are  sowed  after  the  cotton.  The  cowpeas  are  gathered  and  the 
vines  plowed  under,  or  the  vines  are  cut  for  hay  and  the  stubble 
is  plowed  under.  In  either  case,  the  land  is  improved  in  ways 
which  are  more  fully  explained  on  page  io8.  On  this  land  is 
seeded  a  winter-growing  crop,  such  as  rye  or  barley;    this  keeps 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT  ^  103 

the  land  from  washing,  and  uses  plant  food  which  would  other- 
wise go  to  waste.  With  the  corn  at  the  last  working  is  seeded 
crimson  clover,  which  is  a  winter-growing  crop. 

The  second  year,  after  grazing  the  rye  or  barley  in  the  third 
shift,  the  farmer  plows  it  up  and  plants  that  land  in  corn, —  sowing, 
as  before,  crimson  clover  at  the  last  working.  He  feeds  or  plows 
under  the  crimson  clover  in  the  second  shift  and  plants  it  in  cotton, 
later  seeding  this  land  in  oats.  When  he  cuts  the  oats  on  the 
first  shift,  he  seeds  cowpeas  on  the  stubble,  and  when  these  are 
cut  or  picked,  he  sows  rye  or  barley. 

The  third  year  he  agaii;  changes  the  crops  on  his  shifts.  Corn 
and  crimson  clover  come  on  the  first  shift,  cowpeas  and  small 
grain  on  the  second,  and  cotton  and  oats  on  the  third. 

The  farmer  is  kept  busy,  but  is  never  so  much  hurried  as 
his  neighbor  who  raises  only  cotton.  Winter  finds  something 
growing  on  all  the  fields;  the  land  is  gaining  instead  of  losing 
fertility.  By  change  of  crops  and  by  plowing  under  green  crops 
and  stubble,  humus  and  plant  food  are  saved  and  supplied.  This 
farmer  has  to  buy  less  commercial  fertihzers,  and  yet  has  better 
crops.  Crop  diseases  and  insect  pests  are  less  troublesome  in 
his  fields.  He  has  plenty  of  feed  for  live  stock;  the  hay  and 
peas  and  grain  he  raises  more  than  make  up  for  his  smaller  crop 
of  cotton. 

In  the  long  run,  it  will  be  found  more  profitable  to  grow  a  crop, 
such  as  cotton  or  tobacco,  once  every  two  or  three  or  four  years 
on  a  field  than  every  year.  The  advantages  of  crop  rotation 
are  so  great  that  the  farmers  who  give  it  a  fair  trial  do  not  return 
to  the  one-crop  system.  In  most  sections  the  most  prosperous 
farmers  are  those  who  practice  rotation  of  crops. 

There  are  three  kinds  of  crops  which  should  have  place  in 
every  rotation.     Firsts  of  course^  is  the  money  crop  to  which 


I04 


AGRICULTURE 


I.   cotton 
oats 

com 
crimson 
clover 

cowpeas 
rye  or 
barley 

2.   cowpeas 
rye  or 
barley 

cotton 
oats 

com 
crimson 
clover 

3.   corn 
crimson 
clover 

cowpeas 
rye  or 
barley 

cotton 
oats 

the  main  place  is  given;   this  is  usually  the  one  which  prevailed 
under  the  one-crop  system,  —  tobacco,  wheat,   corn,  or  cotton. 

Second,  there  should  be 
grain  and  fodder  crops  to 
provide  food  for  man  and 
beast.  Third,  there  should 
be  at  least  one  legume  to 
supply  humus  and  plant 
food. 

Principles  of  Rotation. 
— There  are  no  hard-and- 
fast  rules  as  to  the  crops  in  a  rotation.  Yet  the  rotation  should 
be  arranged  according  to  definite  principles  so  as  to  secure  cer- 
tain advantages  for  the  farm  and  the  farmer. 

First :  Crops  should  rotate  so  as  to  give  every  year  a  money- 
market  crop.  It  is  better  if  a  farmer  can  have  two  or  more  money 
crops,  marketable  at  different  seasons.  Of  course,  the  main 
one  should  be  a  profitable  one.  To  determine  the  profitableness 
of  a  crop,  the  farmer  must  consider  not  merely  selling  price,  but 
cost  of  production  and  market  condition.  The  cost  of  produc- 
tion includes  labor  and  fertilizers  and  the  demand  on  soil  fer- 
tiHty.  It  must  always  be  borne  in  mind,  in  considering  the  profit 
and  loss  of  crops,  that  the  elements  removed  from  the  soil  must 
be  returned  in  some  form.  Tobacco  costs  much  labor  to  produce, 
and  makes  great  demands  on  the  soil  for  plant  food  which  must 
be  returned  in  the  shape  of  fertihzers  and  manures.  The  selling 
price  must  be  high  to  make  it  profitable.  Hay  and  grass,  on 
the  other  hand,  demand  less  labor  and  remove  less  fertility;  thus 
they  can  be  profitably  sold  at  a  lower  price.  If  live  stock  be  sold, 
or  still  better  live-stock  products,  such  as  milk  and  butter,  httle 
fertility  is  removed  from  the  farm,  and  the  chief  cost  is  in  labor. 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT 


105 


Second:  Crops  should  rotate  so  as  to  secure  most  of  their 
nitrogen  from  the  air.  This  is  done  by  growing  legumes,  such 
as  clover  and  cowpeas.  Their  work  in 
improving  the  soil  is  more  fully  de- 
scribed in  the  section  on  Green  Ma- 
nures. More  and  more,  farmers  are 
realizing  the  importance  and  the 
economy  of  raising  legumes,  and  so 
avoiding  partly  or  wholly  the  expense 
of  buying  nitrogen  in  fertilizers. 

Third:  Crops  should  rotate  so  as  to 
have  plants  of  different  feeding  capac- 
ities and  habits  of  growth  follow  one 
another.  The  greater  the  difference  in 
all  ways,  —  growth,  food  needs,  food- 
getting  power,  and  methods  of  cultiva- 
tion,— the  better.  Food  unavailable  to 
plants  with  shallow  fibrous  roots,  such 
as  wheat,  is  pumped  out  of  the  subsojl 
by  plants  with  deep  taproots,  such  as 
clover.  Thus  the  drain  of  crop-feed- 
ing is  divided  between  soil  and  sub- 
soil. Different  methods  of  cultivation 
required  by  different  crops  improve  soil  conditions, 
to  be  sometimes  loosened,  sometimes  compacted. 

Fourth:  Crops  should  rotate  so  as  to  make  the  best  use  of 
the  residue,  or  remains,  of  the  preceding  crop  and  of  the  manures 
and  fertilizers  applied.  Coarse  manures  are  generally  most 
valuable  when  applied  to  strong-feeding  crops  to  precede  and 
prepare  for  weak-feeding  ones.  Clover,  for  instance,  is  a  strong- 
feeding  plant  and  it  makes  good  use  of  stable  manure;  it  stores 


Courtesy  of  Alabama  Agricultural  Station 

I,  rye  after  velvet  beans;  2,  rye  from 
an  equal  area,  after  sweet  potatoes. 

All  soils  need 


I06  AGRICULTURE 

up  nitrogen  and  leaves  plant  food  in  the  surface  soil.  It  is  there- 
fore valuable  to  precede  a  weak-feeding  plant,  such  as  wheat. 
Tobacco  is  another  good  crop  to  precede  wheat.  It  is  a  tap- 
rooted  plant  and  it  leaves  the  soil  in  a  good  condition  for  the 
fibrous-rooted  cereal. 

Fifth:  Crops  should  rotate  so  as  to  keep  in  check  weeds  and 
insect  pests  and  fungous  diseases.  Certain  weeds  and  insects 
flourish  on  certain  crops.  Moreover,  plants  grown  a  long  period 
on  the  same  soil  lose  vigor  and  ability  to  resist  their  enemies. 
These  enemies  are  checked  or  destroyed  by  rotation  of  crops. 
Sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  plan  or  change  a  rotation  so  as  to 
reclaim  land  from  these  pests.  Farmers  change  their  crops  and 
their  methods  of  cultivation  to  check  wilt  diseases  and  weevils.  By 
rotation  of  crops,  lands  can  be  freed  of  cattle  ticks,  so  injurious 
to  stock  in  the  South. 

Sixth:  Crops  should  rotate  so  as  to  furnish  abundance  of 
food  for  all  live  stock  kept  on  the  farm.  When  the  farmer  buys 
feed,  he  has  to  pay  not  only  the  cost  of  production,  but  the 
producer's  profit  and  the  cost  of  marketing  and  transportation. 

Seventh:  Crops  should  rotate  so  as  to  keep  land  occupied. 
If  a  market  or  food  crop  is  not  being  grown,  there  should  be 
a  catch,  or  cover,  crop  on  the  land.  This  will  save  and  increase 
plant  food,  supply  humus,  and  prevent  the  washing  and  leach- 
ing which  cause  far  more  loss  of  fertihty  than  does  cropping. 
Sandy  soils  and  rolling  land  should  never  be  left  bare  in  winter. 
It  is  better  for  the  farmer  and  the  farm  for  them  to  be  kept  busy 
producing  fertihty  to  feed  the  next  season's  crops. 

Eighth :  Crops  should  rotate  so  as  to  secure  for  men  and  teams 
as  even  distribution  of  labor  as  possible.  Where  this  is  not  done, 
labor  is  more  expensive  and  more  unsatisfactory.  In  the  great 
wheat  region  of  the  West,  work  is  constant  and  hard  for  two 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT  10/ 

or  three  months,  then  ceases  almost  entirely.    There  most  un- 
satisfactory labor  conditions  prevail. 

Some  Good  Rotations.  —  A  favorite  three-year  rotation  where 
v^heat  and  root  crops  are  grown  is  wheat,  clover,  rye,  and  pota- 
toes. The  wheat  and  clover  are  seeded  in  the  fall.  The  wheat 
is  cut  the  next  summer,  and  the  clover  stands  two  years.  The 
clover  is  followed  by  a  winter  cover  crop  of  oats  or  rye  which 
is  grazed  and  followed  by  potatoes. 

Where  cotton  or  tobacco  is  the  main  crop,  a  good  three-year 
rotation  is  the  one  described,  —  corn  and  crimson  clover,  cotton 
or  tobacco,  small  grain,  and  cowpeas  or  soy  beans. 

A  good  four-year  rotation  is  clover,  wheat,  and  tobacco ;  in 
this  the  clover  stands  two  years.  Another  four-year  rotation 
is  potatoes,  oats,  clover,  and  wheat.  A  five-year  rotation  which 
includes  small  fruits  is  corn,  wheat  and  cowpeas,  early  potatoes 
and  beans,  and  strawberries  for  two  years. 

Where  dairy-farming  and  market-gardening  are  practiced, 
manures  and  fertilizers  are  largely  relied  on  instead  of  crop 
rotation. 

EXERCISE 

1.  Plan  a  rotation  to  bring  in  the  staple  crop  of  your  section  with  re- 
gard to  the  principles  explained. 

2.  Plan  a  rotation  to  bring  in  sweet  potatoes  as  chief  crop  on  sandy 
soil ;  tobacco  as  chief  crop  on  loam ;  hay  as  chief  crop  on  clay  soil. 

3.  Plan  a  rotation  to  improve  a  clay  soil  that  lacks  humus;  one 
to  improve  a  thin,  sandy  soil. 

4.  Set  aside  two  plots  of  equal  size.  Divide  one  into  three  parts 
and  cultivate  on  it  the  crops  in  one  of  the  three-year  rotations  described. 
On  the  other  plot  grow  for  three  years  the  main  crop  in  the  same  ro- 
tation. 

5.  Write  an  exercise  on  "crop  rotation,"  illustrating  it  from  your 
observation  of  the  farms  of  your  neighborhood. 


Io8  AGRICULTURE 


GREEN  MANURES;  LEGUMES    AND    SOIL 
INOCULATION 

Green  Crops,  —  Green  manures  are  crops,  such  as  rye,  cow- 
peas,  and  clover,  plowed  under  when  green  to  improve  land. 
Sometimes  the  green  crop  is  grazed  or  fed  to  stock  or  cut  for 
hay,  and  the  stubble  is  plowed  under  to  improve  the  land.  These 
crops  benefit  the  soil's  texture  and  moisture  conditions,  add 
humus  and  some  plant  food,  and  make  available  much  food 
already  in  the  soil.  Humus  is  especially  needed  by  light  soils 
in  humid  climates.  Without  it,  they  never  produce  good  crops. 
Usually,  the  cheapest  way  to  get  it  is  to  grow  it  on  the  fields  where 
it  is  needed.  A  soil  is  kept  well  supplied  with  it  by  proper  rotation 
of  crops  and  by  stock  raising. 

'Catch,'  or  'cover'  crops,  as  these  are  called,  may  often  be 
grown  without  interfering  with  other  crops  in  a  rotation.  They 
keep  the  land  from  becoming  infested  with  weeds  in  summer, 
and  in  winter  they  prevent  the  washing  away  of  soil  and  the 
leaching  out  of  plant  food.  Cowpeas  is  an  excellent  summer 
crop  to  follow  small  grain,  such  as  w^heat  or  oats.  Where  it 
thrives,  crimson  clover  is  an  excellent  winter  crop.  It  can  be 
seeded  alone,  or  in  such  crops  as  corn,  cotton,  and  tobacco,  when 
they  are  worked  the  last  time;  in  spring  it  may  be  cut  or  plowed 
under  and  the  land  planted  in  corn  or  other  crops. 

Legumes.  —  Both  cowpeas  and  crimson  clover  are  legumes, 
which  are  the  best  green  crops  for  soil  improvement.  What  are 
legumes,  and  how  do  they  benefit  the  soil  more  than  other  plants  ? 

Legumes,  or  pod-bearing  plants,  include  cowpeas,  vetches, 
beans,  peanuts,  al  fal'fa,  and  the  clovers.  They  are  valuable  as 
humus  supphers  and  as  forage  crops,  but  their  greatest  value  lies 


In  the  flowerpots  on  the  left  is  wheat  supplied,  first,  with  potash ;  second,  with  potash 
and  phosphoric  acid;  third,  with  potash,  phosphoric  acid,  and  nitrogen.  The  tubes  below 
show  the  relative  yield  of  grain. 

In  the  flowerpots  on  the  right  is  vetch  supplied,  first,  with  potash  ;  second,  with  potash 
and  phosphoric  acid  ;  third,  with  potash,  phosphoric  acid,  and  nitrogen.  The  tubes  below 
show  the  relative  yield  of  seed. 


5  i 


'; 


Ji 


I    -i! 


'■i    i 


M. 


Fertilizing  Experiment  with  Wheat  and  Vetch 


no  AGRICULTURE 

in  the  fact  that  they  are  nitrogen-gatherers.  Nitrogen  is  a  costly  and 
scarce  element  of  plant  food,  costing,  in  commercial  form,  about 
sixteen  cents  a  pound.  An  average  crop  of  peas  or  clover  adds 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  nitrogen  to  each  acre  of  soil. 

Free  Nitrogen.  —  Where  do  the  plants  get  it  ?  From  the 
air.  Over  every  acre  of  soil  there  are  more  than  three  thousand 
tons  of  free  nitrogen.  This  is  of  no  service  to  crops,  such  as 
the  cereals,  which  have  no  power  to  use  nitrogen  until  it  is  changed 
into  certain  compounds.  With  vast  quantities  of  nitrogen  around 
it,  a  plant- may  starve,  just  as  a  sailor  may  perish  of  thirst  with 
the  great  ocean  surrounding  him.  Nitrogen  is  there,  water  is 
there,  but  not  in  forms  available  to  the  plant  and  the  man. 

Tubercles.  —  Legumes,  however,  feed  indirectly  on  this  free 
nitrogen  by  means  of  certain  forms  of  bacteria,  which  live  in 
knots,  called  tubercles,  on  their  roots.  The  decay  of  the  tuber- 
cles leaves  nitrogen  in  the  soil.  On  different  legumes  and  under 
different  conditions  these  tubercles  vary  from  the  size  of  a  tiny 
pin  head  to  that  of  an  egg.  They  are  thought  to  be  rootlets, 
changed  in  form  by  thousands  and  millions  of  bacteria. 

Bacteria  in  Soils.  —  In  soils  where  legumes  have  been  culti- 
vated, these  bacteria  are  abundant.  Where  legumes  have  not 
been  grown,  they  are  apt  to  be  lacking.  In  that  case  the  legumes 
will  produce  a  smaller  crop  and  the  soil  will  be  less  enriched. 
The  bacteria  increase  rapidly,  and  often  legumes  thrive  the  second 
year  on  land  where  they  failed  the  first.  Bacteria  may  be  sup- 
phed  by  sprinkling  land  with  soil  from  a  field  on  which  has  been 
grown  the  legume  desired;  soil  from  an  alfalfa  field  must  be 
used  for  alfalfa,  from  pea  land  for  peas,  and  so  on.  Sprinkling 
the  soil,  or  in  oc'u  lat  ing  it,  as  it  is  called,  with  soil  from  another 
field  is  troublesome  and  often  inconvenient ;  it  often  introduces 
weeds  and  insect  pests  and  fungous  diseases. 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT  III 

Pure  Culture  of  Nitrogen.  — After  many  experiments  by  scientists, 
a  method  has  been  discovered  of  growing  these  bacteria,  so  as  to 
give  legumes  a  start  on  land  where  they  have  not  been  cultivated. 

This  is  done  by  means  of  what  is  called  a  '  pure  culture  '  of 
nitrogen;  it  supplies  bacteria  raised  under  conditions  that  make 
them  depend  upon  the  air  instead  of  the  soil  for  their  supply  of 
nitrogen.  This  '  pure  culture '  is  applied  to  the  seed  or  to  the  soil. 
It  is  similar  in  action  to  a  yeast  cake,  and  like  yeast  the  bacteria 
must  be  raised  carefully  according  to  directions. 

The  practical  value  of  this  method  is  doubted .  by  many 
scientists.  Certainly  it  is  not  enough  to  inoculate  the  seed  or  the 
soil.  The  soil  should  be  well  prepared,  and  there  should  be 
supplied  mineral  food, — potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  and  lime 
if  the  soil  is  acid.  If  these  elements  be  furnished  in  abundance, 
the  legumes  make  a  rank  growth. 

EXPERIMENTS 

1.  Obtain  the  'pure  culture'  from  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
or  from  your  State  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  and  experiment 
with  it.  Fill  two  boxes  with  quartz  *  ^  ^  n 
sand  which  has  been  heated  red- 
hot  in  order  to  burn  out  nitrates. 
Supply  both  with  potash  and  phos- 
phoric acid.  Plant  wheat  in  one, 
and  in  the  other  plant  peas  inoc- 
ulated with  the  '  pure  culture.' 
What  happens  to  each  when  the 
nitrogen  stored  in  the  seed  is  ex- 
hausted ?                                                           At  the  left,  crimson  clover  on  uninoculated 

2.  Plant  crimson  clover  seed  in  a    soil;    at  the  right,  crimson  clover  on  inocu- 

paper  box   of    soil    from    a   field  ^^^^^  ^°''- 

in  which  clover  has  been  grown.    When  the  plant  blooms,  put  the  box 

in  water  and  soak  the   soil  from  the  roots  ;  examine  the  tubercles. 


112 


AGRICULTURE 


Cross  Section  of  Hotbed 


STABLE  MANURE 

Benefits  of  Manure.  —  Stable  manure  is  the  liquid  and  solid 
excrement  of  farm  animals.  We  find  the  richest  farms  and 
the  most  prosperous  farmers  where  stock  raising  is  practiced  and 
the  manure  is  properly  saved  and  utilized. 

Stable  manure  increases  the  supply  of  plant  food  in  the  soil.  It 
does  this  directly  by  supplying  some  elements,  —  nitrogen,  potash, 
phosphoric  acid,  and  lime,  —  and  it  does  it  indirectly  by  helping 

to  change  into  available  forms  some  un- 
available elements. 

It  also  improves  the  condition  of  the 
soil,  binding  together  sandy  soil  and 
loosening  clay.  It  enables  a  soil  to  re- 
tain more  water  and  to  yield  it  more 
fully  and  more  gradually  to  plant  roots.  By  the  heat  which  it 
gives  out  in  decaying  and  also  by  the  heat  which  it  absorbs  from 
the  air,  it  warms  the  soil.  It  does  this  to  such  an  extent  that 
'  hotbeds '  of  manure  are  used  to  hasten  the  germination  of  seeds 
and  growth  of  plants. 

Value  of  Manure. — The  value  of  manure  depends  on  the  kind 
of  animals  which  produce  it, 
their  age  and  food,  the  methods 
of  saving  and  applying  it.  As 
a  rule,  the  more  concentrated 
the  food  of  an  animal,  the  more 
concentrated,  and  hence  the 
more  valuable,  is  the  manure. 
The  manure  from  poultry,  hogs,  "^^"^^'  ^^  ^^'""  ^"^^^'  ^^^  ^^°^^'^^^ 
and  horses,  which  are  fed  concentrated  foods,  is  more  valuable 
than  cow  manure,  which  is  produced  chiefly  from  coarse,  bulky 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT 


113 


foods.  Under  good  management,  eighty  per  cent  of  the  fertility  in 
food  can  be  returned  to  the  soil  in  manure.  The  manure  from 
old  animals  is  more  valuable  than  that  of  young  ones,  because 
growing  animals  retain  more  of  the  fertilizing  elements,  especially 
nitrogen,  to  build  up  their  bodies. 


VALUE  OF  MANURE, 

ANNUALLY,  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 

Produced         |  Saved  by  Average  Farmer 

Horse 

Cow 

Hog 

Sheep 

$27.00 

19.00 

12.00 

2.00 

$10.00 
6.00 
4.00 

.75 

Manure  yields  about  one  fourth  of  its  value  the  first  season.  Its 
effects  are  more  lasting  than  commercial  fertilizers,  which  give  up 
from  one  half  to  three  fourths  of  their  value  the  first  season. 

Sources  of  Loss.  — Manure  often  loses  half  or  more  of  its  value 
from  lack  of  proper  care.    There  are  three  sources  of  loss.    - 


Loss  OF  Manure  by  Exposure 

The  manure  on  this  farm  loses  more  than  half  its  value  before  it  is  applied  to  the  land. 

Refer  to  the  text  and  explain  how  and  why  this  happens. 

First:  Manure  loses  by  the  escape  of  the  liquid  matter.    This 
is  more  valuable  than  the  solid  matter,  as  it  contains  nearly  all 


114  AGRICULTURE 

the  nitrogen  and  some  of  the  phosphoric  acid  and  potash.  Its 
loss  may  be  prevented  by  the  use  of  the  proper  quantity  and 
kind  of  absorbents,  such  as  straw  or  leaves,  to  catch  and  retain  it. 

Second:  Manure  loses  by  exposure  to  rain.  The  Hquid  and 
some  of  the  elements  of  the  solid  matter  are  leached  and  washed 
out.  In  manure  exposed  for  several  months  to  the  weather, 
the  loss  of  nitrogen  and  potash  may  amount  to  more  than  one 
half.  When  it  is  not  desired  to  apply  manure  at  once,  it  should 
be  piled  under  cover  or  composted  and  kept  moist. 

Third:  Manure  loses  through  the  escape  of  gases  in  fermenta- 
tion, or  '  heating '  as  it  is  called  from  the  heat  produced  and 
given  off  in  the  process  of  decay.  Fermentation  is  caused  by 
the  action  of  bacteria.  If  they  are  allowed  to  work  unchecked, 
they  set  free  in  gases  the  most  valuable  elements  of  the  manure. 
The  process  of  fermentation  can  be  checked  by  mixing  the  manure 
of  different  kinds  of  animals  and  by  keeping  the  mass  moist 
and  well  packed.  When  it  is  kept  moist,  the  heat,  instead  of 
causing  fermentation,  is  spent  in  evaporation;  when  it  is  well 
packed  and  trampled,  fermentation  is  checked  by  lack  of  air. 
Manure  is  improved  by  fermentation  if  it  be  protected  against 
loss  of  nitrogen. 

Composting  Manure.  —  Farmers  often  compost  manure.  This 
is  done  by  making  a  heap  composed  of  alternate  layers  of  manure 
and  of  weeds,  leaves,  etc.  The  whole  is  put  up  in  a  cone-shaped 
heap  to  protect  it  against  rain,  and  covered  with  a  layer  of  dry 
earth  to  absorb  gases.  It  needs  to  be  occasionally  repiled  and 
wet  thoroughly  to  keep  in  check  the  process  of  fermentation. 

Where  labor  is  scarce,  it  is  often  better  to  haul  manure  directly 
to  the  field  where  it  is  to  be  used,  and  to  scatter  it  upon  the 
land  so  as  to  let  its  fertihzing  elements  be  embodied  in  the 
surface  soil. 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT  1 15 


EXPERIMENT 

Fertilize  a  row  in  your  garden  with  stable  manure  that  has  been  pro- 
tected against  loss  by  leaching,  washing,  and  heating.  Fertilize  another 
row  with  the  same  amount  of  the  same  kind  of  manure  that  has  been  ex- 
posed to  the  weather.  Plant  both  rows  in  corn  and  cultivate  in  the  same 
way.     What  difference  do  you  observe  ? 


COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS 

Crop  Removal  of  Plant  Food.  —  Perhaps  you  have  heard  a  farmer 
say,  "That  crop  has  taken  a  great  deal  out  of  the  land."  That  is 
literally  true.  In  the  case  of  abundant  elements,  such  as  iron, 
it  is  a  matter  of  no  importance;  there  is  always  enough  left.  But 
you  know  there  are  some  elements  which  are  scarce  in  available 
forms.  The  ^kv/sphoric  acid,  nitrogen,  and  potash  removed  by 
^rops  must  be  replaced  if  the  soil  is  to  continue  productive. 

Supplying  Elements  Needed.  — Much  plant  food  can  be  supplied 
and  made  available  by  deep  and  thorough  cultivation,  by  proper 
rotation  of  crops,  and  by  raising  legumes.  For  crops  which  make 
large  demands  on  soil  fertility  and  in  order  to  give  proper  balance 
of  plant  food,  a  farmer  sometimes  finds  it  desirable  to  supply  some 
elements  in  concentrated,  readily  available  forms.  For  these  pur- 
poses, he  uses  commercial  fertilizers.  By  their  wise  use,  farmers 
gain  thousands  of  dollars;   by  their  unwise  use,  they  lose  more. 

Commercial  Fertilizers.  —  What  are  the  sources  of  these  com- 
mercial fertilizers  ?  Some  are  obtained  from  vast  natural  deposits 
in  Germany,  South  America,  the  United  States,  and  other  countries. 
Others  are  the  by-products  of  certain  manufactures,  such  as  gas 
from  coal,  and  oil  from  cotton  seed. 

They  contain  plant  food  in  a  more  concentrated  and  more 
directly  available  form  than  it  exists  in  green  and  stable  manures. 


Il6  AGRICULTURE 

They  are  rarely  so .  cheap  or  so  good  for  the  soil  as  natural 
manures;  some  injure  soil-texture  and  water-holding  power.  Most 
of  them,  indeed,  are  crop  stimulants  rather  than  soil  improvers. 

Rules  for  Use.  — Two  rules  should  govern  the  farmer's  use  of 
commercial  fertilizers. 

First :  To  enrich  his  soil  and  increase  his  crop,  he  should  depend 
chiefly  on  tillage,  rotation  of  crops,  and  natural  manures. 


Grass  on  Fertilized  and  Unfertilized  Land 

This  grass  was  sowed  in  September.  The  field  on  the  left  received  no  further  care ;  that 
on  the  right  had  in  the  spring  a  top  dressing  of  250  lb.  of  muriate  of  potash  and  250  lb.  of 
nitrate  of  soda  to  the  acre,  at  a  cost  of  ^18.68.  The  manured  crop  yielded  6,567  lb.  of 
cured  hay  to  the  acre;  the  unmanured  yielded  1,284  1^-  The  hay  sold  for  j^i6.oo  a  ton. 
What  was  the  profit  from  the  use  of  the  fertilizer? 

Second:  He  should  supplement  these  with  the  proper  amount 
of  the  commercial  fertilizers  that  experience  proves  best  and  cheap- 
est for  his  soil  and  his  crops. 

Guano.  —  One  of  the  best  commercial  fertilizers  is  guano 
(gwa'no),  which  is  especially  rich  in  nitrogen  and  phosphoric 
acid.  Guano  is  the  manure  and  remains  of  fish-eating  sea  fowls. 
For  countless  centuries  these  birds  frequented  the  rocky  islands  off 
the  Pacific  coast  of  South  America.  There  they  hatched  and  reared 
their  young.    Their  ma-nure  and  dead  bodies  accumulated,  and  in 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT.  11/ 

that  rainless,  tropical  climate  the  moisture  evaporated,  leaving 
the  fertilizing  elements  uninjured.  The  ancient  Peruvians  knew 
the  value  of  these  deposits,  and  protected  the  sea  fowls  and  their 
homes.  It  was  forbidden  under  penalty  of  death  to  kill  the  birds 
or  even  to  set  foot  on  the  islands  during  the  breeding  season. 

About  eighty  years  ago  the  first  cargo  of  guano  was  sent  to  Eng- 
land, and  experiments  proved  that  it  had  a  wonderful  effect  on 
crop  production.  Millions  of  tons  were  shipped  until  the  best  beds 
were  exhausted.  Deposits  have  been  found  in  other  places,  but 
none  so  rich  in  nitrogen  as  the  old  beds  off  the  Peruvian  coast. 

Nitrogen.  —  For  soil  nitrogen,  a  farmer  should  rely  chiefly  on 
raising  legumes,  on  proper  rotation  of  crops,  on  stock  raising  and 
the  use  of  manures,  and  on  deep  plowing  and  thorough  cultivation ; 
thus  bacteria  supply  the  soil  with  nitrogen. 

The  chief  commercial  forms  of  nitrogen  are :  guano ;  nitrate  of 
soda,  which  is  a  vast  natural  deposit  in  rainless  districts  of  South 
America ;  sulphate  of  ammonia,  which  is  obtained  as  a  by-product 
in  the  manufacture  of  illuminating  gas  from  coal  and  from  other 
sources ;  cotton-seed  meal,  which  is  a  by-product  of  the  manufacture 
of  cotton-seed  oil ;  dried  blood  and  tankage,  which  are  by-products 
from  slaughter  houses ;  dried  fish  and  fish  scraps,  which  are  by- 
products of  fish-oil  factories  and  canneries. 

The  value  of  fish  as  a  fertilizer  was  known  to  our  American 
Indians.  You  remember  that  Squanto  taught  the  New  Eng- 
land settlers  that  they  could  increase  the  yield  of  com  by  putting 
a  fish  under  each  hill.  This  gave  the  grain  the  two  elements  it 
needed  most  —  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen. 

Commercial  nitrogen  was  until  recently  obtained >  entirely  from 
natural  deposits  and  products.  Artificial  nitrates  are  now  being 
made  by  the  use  of  electric  furnaces.  By  these  the  nitrogen  and 
oxygen  of  the  air  are  made  to  unite,  forming  nitric  acid. 


Il8  AGRICULTURE 

Phosphoric  Acid.  — Many  soils  contain  phosphorus  in  forms 
unavailable  to  plants;  these  soils  need  thorough  tillage,  and  stable 
manure  and  lime  to  combine  with  the  phosphates  and  form  phos- 
phoric acid.  The  chief  commercial  sources  of  phosphoric  acid 
are  guano,  ground  and  crushed  bones,  and  phosphate  rocks. 

There  are  large  deposits  of  phosphate  rocks  in  South  Carohna, 
Florida,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  other  states. 
These  are  supposed  to  be  the  accumulated  remains  of  ancient 
animals.  The  phosphoric  acid  in  them  is  insoluble  and  cannot 
be  used  by  plants;  it  is  made  soluble,  and  so  available,  by  being 
treated  with  sul  phu'ric  acid.  Some  preparations  contain  free  sul- 
phuric acid,  and  if  these  be  used  year  after  year  on  land,  it  will 
become  'baked'  and  lose,  instead  of  gain,  fertility. 

The  insoluble  forms  of  phosphates,  such  as  bones  and  untreated 
phosphate  rock,  decay  slowly  and  should  be  appHed  some  time 
before  needed.  They  do  not  injure  the  soil,  are  slow  and  lasting 
in  effect,  and  are  especially  Useful  for  slow-growing  crops. 

Potash.  —  It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  amount  of  available  potash 
in  a  soil,  as  plants  vary  greatly  in  their  ability  to  get  it;  it  is  un- 
available for  some,  where  others  collect  all  they  need.  Tobacco, 
grass,  potatoes,  legumes,  and  fruit  trees  use  much  potash. 

The  chief  commercial  sources  of  potash  are  wood  ashes  and  the 
products  of  the  Stass'furt  mines  in  Germany.  These  mines  are  in 
a  vast  salt  bed  formed  probably  by  the  evaporation  of  water  from  an 
inland  sea,  leaving  the  substances  leached  from  the  land.  Potash 
is  shipped  from  these  mines  in  various  forms,  such  as  kain'it, 
mu'ri  ate  of  potash,  and  sul'phate  of  potash.  Common  salt 
is  the  chief  impurity  in  kainit  and  in  muriate  of  potash.  Sulphate 
or  nitrate  of  potash  is  used  on  such  crops  as  tobacco,  potatoes, 
and  fruit,  of  which  the  quahty  would  be  injured  by  the  salt  in 
muriate  of  potash  and  kainit. 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT 


119 


Calcium.  —  Calcium  is  an  essential  plant  food  of  which  there  is 
generally  enough  in  the  soil  for  plant  needs.  Applications  of  it, 
however,  in  the  form  of  lime,  are  usually  beneficial.  One  of  the 
most  useful  effects  of  lime  is  in  correcting  acidity  of  soils.  From 
various  causes,  there  sometimes  form  in  soils  acid  compounds,  which 


mm 


A   LlME-SPREADING   MACHINE  AT  WORK 

are  injurious  to  plant  growth.  Such  soils  will  not  produce  good 
crops.  It  is  necessary  to  '  sweeten  '  them,  as  farmers  say.  This  is 
done  by  applying  lime,  which  combines  with  the  acids  and  destroys 
the  injurious  compounds.  I>ime  improves  soil  texture,  sets  free 
much  unavailable  plant  food,  and  prevents  many  fungous  diseases. 
The  effect  of  lime  is  largely  a  forcing  one.  Therefore  it  should  be 
used  as  a  supplement  to  other  plant  foods,  not  as  a  substitute  for 
them.    A  wise  old  proverb  says, — 

"  Lime  and  marl  without  manure 
Will  make  both  farm  and  farmer  Door." 


I20 


AGRICULTURE 


Mixing  Fertilizers.  —  Many  farmers  buy  materials  and  mix  fertiL 
izers  according  to  formulas  which  tests  and  experience  have  proved 

satisfactory.  Thus  they  know  the 
kind  and  quahty  of  plant  food  they  are 
getting,  and  obtain  it  at  a  reasonable 
cost.  On  page  305  in  the  Appendix 
will  be  found  simple  and  useful  sug- 
gestions about  mixing  fertilizers. 


Alfalfa 

The  alfalfa  on  the  left  was  from  limed  land;  that  on  the  right  was  from  an  equal  area  of 
unlimed  land.     Legumes  are  usually  benefited  by  applications  of  lime. 

6uPE«PHc«PHATe  pigljj  Tests.  — By  mak- 

ing field  tests,  a  farmer  can 
learn  what  fertilizers  suit 
the  special  ne^ds  of  his 
soil  and  his  crops.  It  is  a 
good  plan  to  set  aside  for 
a  test  eight  plots,  each 
twenty-one  feet  and  four 
inches  wide  and  one  hun- 
dred and  two  feet  long, 
.    .     ,.         ,1.    ,   ,  r         ..  ,     ,     containing   one    twentieth 

In  this  diagram  the  dark  lines  unite  names  of  mate-  " 

rials  which  should  never  be  mixed;   the  light  lines  of   an   acrC.      They    should 

unite  those  which  may  be  mixed  at  any  time;  the  y^    SCDarated    bv   StrioS    of 
double  light  lines  unite  those  which  should  be  applied  r  •  J 

immediately  after  mixing.  .  land  about  three  feet  Wide, 


STABLE 

MANURE  AND 

GUANO 


NITRATE  OF  SODA 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT 


121 


81b.  Nitrate  of  Soda. 


81b.  Muriate  of  Potash 


I6lb.  Phosphoric  Acid. 


3 


81b.  Nitrate  of  Soda. 
8*  Muriate  of  Potasti. 


to   prevent   the   fertilizer  used  on  one  plot  from   affecting  the 
adjoining  plots. 

The  fertilizers  should  be  applied  as  illustrated  in  the  diagram. 
They  can  be  mixed  with  fine  earth  and  drilled  in  the  rows.  The 
plots  should  be  cultivated  in  the  same 
way  and  planted  in  the  same  crop,  the 
one  for  which  the  farmer  usually  buys 
fertilizers.  If  he  uses  them  largely  on 
several  crops,  it  will  prove  helpful  and 
economical  to  make  the  test  for  each 
one.  If  potatoes  or  tobacco  be  the 
test  crop,  sulphate  of  potash  should  be 
used  instead  of  muriate  of  potash. 

The  test  plots  may  be  made  smaller, 
the  quantity  of  fertihzers  being  reduced 
accordingly. 

Cost  of  Fertilizers.  —  In  buying  or 
in  mixing  fertilizers,  the  farmer  should 
try  to  get  as  many  pounds  of  available 
plant  food  as  possible  for  the  money, 
not  as  many  bags  of  material.  The 
freight  and  trouble  of  handling  a  ton 
of  kainit  containing  one  hundred  and 
twenty  pounds  of  plant  food  are  as 
great  as  those  on  a  ton  of  muriate  of 
potash  containing  a  thousand  pounds. 
A  fertilizer  at  forty  dollars  the  ton 
may  be,  and  often  is,  cheaper  than 
one  at  twenty  dollars  the  ton,  on  account  of  supplying  over  twice 
as  much  plant  food  at  the  same  cost  for  freight  and  hauHng. 

Guaranteed  Analysis.  —  To  protect  the  farmer  against  fraud, 


61b.  Nitrate  of  5oda. 
16"  Phosphoric  Acid 


81b.  Muriate  of  Potash 
16"  Phosphoric  Acid. 


8lb.  Nitrate  of  Soda 
8"Muriate  of  Potash. 
16"  Phosphoric  Acid. 


2  bu.  Lime 


8 


Fertilizer  Field  Tests 


122  AGRICULTURE 

many  state  laws  require  that  the  guaranteed  analysis,  or  formula, 
of  a  fertilizer  shall  be  placed  on  the  bag  containing  it.  At  the  pre- 
vailing prices  of  unmixed  materials,  a  pound  of  nitrogen  is  worth 
about  sixteen  cents,  a  pound  of  potash  about  five,  and  a  pound  of 
phosphoric  acid  about  four  and  a  half.  If  a  farmer  understands 
a  fertilizer  formula,  he  can  tell  how  many  pounds  of  each  he  is 
getting  in  available  form ;  by  the  price  of  the  ton  he  can  tell  whether 
or  not  he  is  paying  a  reasonable  price,  including  the  manufacturer's 
profit  for  mixing  and  bagging.  If  he  be  not  willing  to  take  time 
and  trouble  to  learn  the  A  B  C  of  the  matter,  his  purse,  and  often 
his  crop  also,  will  suffer. 

A  few  years  ago  a  *  natural  plant  food  '  was  widely  advertised 
and  extensively  sold  at  from  twenty-five  to  twenty-eight  dollars  the 
ton.  So  much  of  the  plant  food  which  it  contained  was  in  insoluble 
and  unavailable  forms  that  the  real  value  of  the  mixture  was  one 
dollar  and  fifty-two  cents  the  ton.  The  printed  formula  was  given 
on  the  bag,  as  required  by  law.  But  to  the  man  who  did  not  under- 
stand it,  this  was  of  no  more  value  than  so  many  Greek  letters. 

EXERCISE 

1.  To  find  out  if  land  is  acid,  take  some  soil  from  two  to  four  inches 
below  the  surface  and  moisten  it  thoroughly.  Put  in  it  a  slip  of  blue 
litmus  paper  and  leave  it  there  several  hours.  If  the  blue  paper  turns 
red,  the  soil  is  acid  and  needs  lime. 

2.  Lay  off  eight  plots  and  make  the  field  tests  described  on  page  120. 
Remember  that  weather  will  affect  the  results;  the  experiment  should 
be  repeated  several  times.  You  may  modify  the  experiment  by  using 
more  or  less  of  certain  substances,  so  as  to'  learn  how  to  attain  most 
economically  the  best  result  for  a  given  crop. 

3.  Are  commercial  fertilizers  used  in  your  locality  ?  For  what  pur- 
poses ? 

4.  Get  samples  of  different  commercial  fertilizers  and  test  them, 
comparing  results  on  same  soil  with  same  crop  plant. 


OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  FOUR 
FIELD,   ORCHARD,  AND   GARDEN   CROPS 

Crop  Raising: 

Conditions  determining  crop: 
Climate,  soil,  labor,  market 
Profits  lie  in 

Cultivating  well,  in  proper  way,  and  at  proper  time 
Avoiding  waste  and  unnecessary  expense 
Forage  Crops: 
Uses : 

Supply  green  and  dry  feed  for  stock 
Some  grasses: 

Blue  grasses,  meadow  fescue,  redtop  or  herd's  grass,  orchard  grass, 

timothy,  Bermuda 
Com,  sorghum 
Some  legumes : 

Clovers,  cowpeas,  alfalfa,  vetches,  soy  beans,  Canada  field  peas, 
velvet  beans,  peanuts 
Cutting  and  curing  hay 
Cereals: 
Uses: 

Grain  for  food 
Stalks  and  leaves  for  forage 
•  Requirements : 

Fertile  soil,  clay  or  loam  preferred 
Much  moisture 
Improved  by 
Seed  selection 
Good  tillage 
Cross  breeding 

123 


T24  '  AGRICULTURE 

Corn: 

Cultivation : 

Deep  plowing  before  planting 
•    Shallow  cultivation  of  crop 
Wheat: 

Cultivation : 

Deep,  firm  seed  bed  with  fine  mellow  surface 
Oats 
Rye 
Barley 
Rice 
Cotton  and  Other  Fiber  Plants: 
Uses: 

Fiber  for  clothing 

Seed  for  oil,  stock  food,  and  fertilizer 
Cultivation : 

Deep  plowing  before  planting 
Shallow  cultivation,  not  continued  late 
Improved  by 
Seed  selection 
Good  cultivation 
Cross  breeding 
Cotton : 

Special  requirements: 
Long  growing  season 
Even  rainfall 
Much  sunshine 

Well-drained  soil,  loam  preferred 
Flax 
Hemp 
Tobacco : 
•    Uses : 

Leaves  for  smoking  and  chewing 
Stems  for  snuff 
Requirements : 

Soil  and  climate  adapted  to  type  desired 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS  12$ 

Cultivation,  fertilizing,  and  curing  adapted  to  grade  desired 
Cultivation : 

Deep  plowing  before  planting 

Shallow,  thorough  cultivation  of  crop 
Improved  by 

Seed  selection 

Cultivating  according  to  requirements 
Sugar-producing  Plants: 
Sugar  cane 
Sorghum 
Sugar  beets 
The  Orchard  and  its  Care: 
Our  common  fruits 
How  fruit  trees  are  grown 
Orchard  location 
Selection  of  varieties 
Transplanting 
Cultivating 
Fertilizing 
Spraying 
Thinning  fruit 
Pruning  trees 
The  Vegetable  Garden: 
Location  and  cultivation 
Market  gardening  or  truck  farming 
Our  common  vegetables 
Berries,  bush  fruits,  and  grapes 
The  Flower  Garden: 
Improvement  of  flowers 
Annuals 
Biennials 
Perennials 


PRINCIPAL  CROP  PLANTS 


Grass  family 

Corn  or  maize 

Wheat 

Oats 

Rye     * 

Barley 

Rice 

Sugar  cane 

Sorghum 

Timothy 

Blue  grasses 

Redtop,  or  herd's  grass 

Fescues 

Orchard  grass 

Goose-foot  family 
Beet 
Spinach 
Mangel-wurzel 

Melon  family  or  cucurbs 

Gourd 

Cucumber 

Muskmelon 

Watermelon 

Squash 

Cymling 

Pumpkin 

Sunflower  family 

Artichokes 

Lettuce 

Salsify 


Rose  family 

Apple 

Pear 

Quince 

Peach 

Plum 

Apricot 

Cherry 

Strawberry 

Raspberry 

Blackberry 

Dewberry 

Citron  family 

Orange 
Lemon 
Lime 

Carrot  family 

Carrot 
Parsnip 
Parsley 
Celery 

Nightshade  family 

Tomato 
Eggplant 
Pepper 
White  potato 
Tobacco 

Lily  family 

Onion 
Asparagus 


Nettle  family 

Hops 

Morning-glory  family 

Sweet  potato 

Legume  family 

Clovers 
Cowpeas 
Alfalfa 
Vetches 
Soy  bean 
Canada  field  pea 
Velvet  bean 
Peanut 
Garden  pea 

String  beans,   or  snaps 
Shell  beans,  —  lima,  navy, 
and  butter  beans 

Vine  family 

Grapes 

Mallow  family 

Cotton 
Okra 

Mustard  family 

Mustard 

Turnip 

Radish 

Cabbage 

Cauliflower 

Rape 

Cresses 


CHAPTER   FOUR 
FIELD,  ORCHARD,  AND  GARDEN  CROPS 
CROP  RAISING 

Principles  not  Methods.  —  In  this  chapter  you  will  be  told  little 
about  special  methods  of  cultivating  special  crops.  These  are 
to  be  learned  by  observing  and  practicing  them  in  connection 
with  the  growing  crop.  Methods  vary  with  season  and  with  soil, 
as  well  as  with  crops :  what  is  right  in  dry  \^eather,  may  be  wrong 
in  wet;  what  is  beneficial  on  a  sandy  soil,  may  be  injurious  on 
clay.  Instead,  then,  of  studying  special  methods,  let  us  look  into 
the  principles  which  underlie  crop  raising  and  govern  all  good 
and  successful  farm  work. 

Let  us  first  consider  briefly  our  agricultural  plants. 

Plant  Families.  —  Plants  are  divided  by  botanists  into  families, 
or  orders,  which  include  those  of  common  origin.  There  are  two 
hundred  families  of  flowering  plants,  including  over  a  hundred 
thousand  species.  A  few  of  these  families  furnish  our  crop  plants, 
which  have  many  wild  relatives,  some  of  which  are  poisonous. 
Our  crisp  celery  is  close  kin  to  the  poisonous  hemlock,  the  white 
potato  to  the  deadly  nightshade.  It  is  useful  to  know  these  kin- 
ships. While  related  plants  may  differ  greatly  in  appearance, 
they  need  similar  food  and  care  and  are  subject  to  the  same 
diseases  and  insect  enemies. 

The  grass  family  is  a  large  and  useful  one.  In  it  are  included 
sugar  cane,  sorghum,  and  the  cereals,  as  well  as  numerous  pasture 

127 


128  AGRICULTURE 

and  hay  grasses.    These  plants  have  fibrous  surface  roots,  long, 
narrow  leaves,  and  jointed,  hollow  or  pithy  stems.    Their  flowers 
are  usually  small  and  scentless,  as  they  depend  upon  the  wind 
to  carry  their  pollen. 
You  have  already  been  told  something  about  the  legume,  or 


Productive  Areas  of  the  Principal  Agricultural  Staples  of  the 
United  States 


pod-bearing,  family,  which  has  the  power  of  using  free  nitrogen 
by  means  of  bacteria  that  live  in  the  tubercles  on  the  roots. 

The  rose  family,  which  gives  us  our  most  beautiful  flowers, 
is  the  great  fruit  family  of  the  north  temperate  zone.  On  page  126 
is  a  table  of  our  principal  crop  plants,  classified  according  to 
families. 

Crop  Development.  — To  Asia  we  owe  most  of  our  food  plants. 
They  have  had  their  qualities  developed  by  hundreds,  even  thou- 


FIELD,    ORCHARD,    AND   GARDEN   CROPS  129 

sands,  of  years  of  cultivation.  By  cultivation  they  have  been  given 
a  much  wider  range  of  soil  and  climate  than  their  wild  ancestors 
had.  But  they  still  have  preferences,  often  very  decided  ones,  as 
to  climate,  soil,  moisture,  and  other  conditions.  Their  yield  is 
largest  in  quantity  and  best  in  quality  when  these  preferences  are 
regarded,  and  therefore  it  is  to  the  farmer's  interest  to  consider 
them.  His  profits  he  in  producing  at  the  least  possible  cost  the 
best  possible  crop. 

Climate.  —  Climate  is  a  matter  of  main  importance.  A  warmth- 
loving  plant,  such  as  cotton,  will  not  grow  in  northern  climates; 
certain  varieties  of  wheat  do  not  flourish  in  warm  sections.  Crim- 
son clover  seldom  does  well  in  the  North,  and  Canada  peas  are 
usually  unsatisfactory  in  the  South. 

Soil.  —  Soil  has  a  decided  effect  on  crops.  On  a  sandy  soil 
most  grain  crops,  especially  wheat,  are  small  in  quantity  and 
inferior  in  quality;  on  that  soil  tubers  and  root  crops  thrive. 
On  a  clay  soil,  on  the  other  hand,  root  crops  do  not  develop  well, 
but  wheat  and  most  other  cereals  and  grasses  thrive. 

Moisture.  —  In  their  moisture  requirements,  also,  plants  vary 
widely.  The  drought-enduring  Kafir  corn  will  grow  where  most 
plants  would  die  for  want  of  water;  moisture-loving  rice  will 
thrive  where  most  plants  would  be  drowned. 

Conditions  Determining  Crops.  —  Soil  and  climate,  then,  de- 
termine the  possibility  of  the  crops  on  a  farm;  but  it  is  market 
and  other  conditions  which,  to  a  large  extent,  determine  their 
profitableness. 

The  eastern  states,  where  there  are  many  towns  and  cities  and 
a  network  of  railroads,  are  largely  occupied  with  dairy  farming, 
poultry  raising,  and  market  gardening.  In  the-^uth,  w^here 
land  is  plentiful  and  labor  has  been  abundant,  are  raised  the  great 
labor-demanding  staples,  tobacco  and  cotton.     In  the  West,  where 


I3C  AGRICULTURE 

land  is  plentiful  but  labor  scarce,  are  raised  vast  crops  of  grain 
and  great  quantities  of  stock. 

It  will  not  do  to  grow  a  crop  simply  because  it  was  a  profitable 
one  for  our  fathers  and  grandfathers.  Labor  and  market  condi- 
tions change,  and  the  successful  farmer,  like  the  successful  man 
in  other  fields  of  business,  must  adapt  himself  to  circumstances. 
New  England  was  once  the  wheat  farm  of  the  United  States.  Since 
large  crops  of  grain  have  been  produced  on  the  prairie  lands, 
New  England  farmers  have  found  it  more  profitable  to  raise  other 
crops.  In  turn,  the  vast  wheat  crops  of  the  Northwest  will  prob- 
ably compel  the  prairie  states  to  seek  profit  in  other  branches  of 
agriculture. 

Changed  labor  conditions  have  brought  about  changes  in  south- 
ern farming.  Deprived  of  the  vast  fixed  element  of  slave  labor, 
the  landowners  have  been  forced  to  reduce  their  acreage  of  cotton 
and  to  raise  at  home  their  food  supplies.  They  are  finding  profit 
in  diversified  farming  and  stock  raising. 

Methods  of  Cultivation.  —  Special  methods  of  cultivation  depend 
largely  on  soil  and  season,  and  on  the  habits  of  growth  and  feeding 
powers  of  each  special  crop.  There  are,  however,  some  general 
principles  applicable  to  most  cases.  A  deep,  fertile  seed  bed  and 
thorough  tillage  rarely  fail  to  pay  their  cost,  and  a  profit  besides. 

Season  for  Planting. — Other  things  being  equal,  the  most 
profitable  crop  is  the  one  planted  at  the  most  favorable  season. 
In  sections  subject  to  summer  drought,  it  is  important  to  plant 
crops  as  early  as  possible.  This  gives  them  the  advantage  of  the 
spring  and  winter  store  of  moisture,  and  enables  them  by  early 
growth  and  vigorous  condition  better  to  resist  dry  weather.  The 
cultivation  of  a  crop  should  put  it  in  the  best  possible  shape  for 
the  average  and  usual  conditions  of  temperature  and  moisture  of 
the  section. 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS 


131 


It  is  important  for  sake  of  both  the  crop  and  the  soil  to  utiHze 
favorable  conditions.  The  successful  tobacco  grower  works  early 
and  late  to  get  his  crop  transplanted  during  a  favorable  season. 
A  grain  grower  considers  carefully  the  condition  of  his  seed  bed. 


C<  urtesy  of  Nebraska  Agricultural  Station 

Average  Plants  from  Three  Fields  of  Grass 

The  plant  on  the  left  was  seeded  in  September ;  the  others  were  seeded  later  and  did  not 
get  well  rooted  before  winter. 

Any  good  farmer  can  give  you  instances  drawn  from  his  own 
experience  which  prove  that  it  pays  to  cultivate  a  crop  well,  and 
that  it  is  important  to  plant  and  work  a  crop  at  the  right  time,  when 
seasons  are  favorable. 

Business  Methods.  —  Farming  demands  for  its  successful  pur- 
suit the  same  qualities  and  methods  required  for  success  in  other 


132  AGRICULTURE 

occupations,  —  industry,  intelligence,  energy,  and  system.  A 
manufacturer  knows  to  a  fraction  of  a  cent  what  profit  he  is  mak- 
ing on  every  bolt  of  cloth  that  his  mill  produces.  If  he  finds  that 
he  is  working  at  a  loss,  he  increases  his  selhng  price,  cuts  down 
wages,  or  closes  his  mill. 

Farming  is  a  business  in  which  more  money  is  invested  than  in 
manufacturing  or  any  other  industry  in  the  United  States.  Does 
a  farmer  know  at  what  price  he  can  afford  to  sell  wheat  and 
tobacco,  or  pork  and  beef,  unless  he  knows  what  it  cost  him  to 
raise  them?  Can  he  -tell  what  crop  is  most  profitable  unless  he 
knows,  in  each  case,  the  cost  of  production  as  well  as  the  selling 
price  ? 

Keeping  Accounts.  —  He  should  keep  accounts  as  carefully  as 
does  the  manufacturer.  He  should  make  a  record  of  the  cost  of 
each  crop,  labor  of  man,  team,,  and  tools,  quantity,  composition, 
and  cost  of  fertilizers,  yield,  and  selling  price.  He  should  keep 
account  of  all  his  live  stock,  value  of  food,  and  returns  in  meat, 
milk,  wool,  and  other  products. 

Increasing  Profits.  —  Like  the  manufacturer,  he  must  change 
his  methods  if  he  finds  that  he  is  working  at  a  loss.  If  he  cannot 
sell  a  product  for  a  paying  price  or  cut  down  cost  so  as  to  make  it 
profitable,  he  should  stop  raising  it.  Profits  can  often  be  increased 
by  foresight  and  good  judgment  in  planting,  cultivating,  and 
marketing  crops  so  as  to  improve  their  quality  or  to  get  them  on 
the  market  at  a  favorable  time.  It  is  usually  more  profitable  to 
sell,  instead  of  raw  products,  articles  made  from  raw  products, — 
that  is,  to  sell  wool  instead  of  hay,  milk  or  butter  instead  of  fodder. 

Reducing  Expenses.  —  By  studying  and  applying  the  principles 
underlying  the  feeding  of  plants  and  animals,  a  farmer  can  reduce 
the  cost  of  crop  production  and  stock  raising.  This  reductiori,  of 
course,  increases  his  profits. 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS  133 

By-products.  —  All  by-products  on  the  farm,  such  as  manure  and 
ashes,  should  be  used  so  as  to  get  their  full  value.  Advantage 
should  be  taken  of  processes  to  save  material  that  formerly  went 
to  waste,  such  as  cotton  seed  and  cornstalks. 

These  matters  may  seem  small,  but  they  are  important.  All 
waste,  all  unnecessary  expense,  are  60  many  dollars  and  cents 
deducted  from  the  farmer's  profit.  Does  he  buy  seed  which  he 
could  as  well  or  better  raise  at  home?  The  cost  comes  off  his 
profit.  Does  he  hire  incompetent  laborers  and  so  fail  to  get  his 
work  done  at  the  proper  time  in  the  proper  way?  The  so-called 
economy  is  an  expense  reducing  his  profits.  Does  he  sleep  late  in 
the  morning  and  loaf  in  the  afternoon  when  his  crops  need  him  ? 
The  indulgence  makes  a  heavy  deduction  from  his  profits. 

Exercises  are  given  in  connection  with  the  special  crops  which  follow. 

FORAGE    CROPS 

Uses  of  Forage  Crops.  —  As  forage  crops,  we  group  those  plants 
which  are  used  as  green  or  dry  feed  for  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and 
other  stock.  These  differ  widely  in  growth  and  habits;  they  have 
one  quality  in  common,  —  they  produce  luxuriant  and  succulent 
leaves  and  stems. 

These  forage  plants  are  used  in  different  ways.  Sometimes 
they  are  sowed  on  land  to  form  pastures  where  stock  can  graze. 
Sometimes  they  are  fed  as  soiling  crops,  —  that  is,  they  are  cut  and 
fed  green.  Sometimes  they  are  cut  green,  but  instead  of  being  fed 
at  once,  they  are  put  away  in  air-tight  buildings,  called  si'los,  to 
furnish  green  feed  in  winter.  This  si'lage,  as  it  is  called,  is  espe- 
cially relished  by  dairy  cattle.  Sometimes  the  crop  is  allowed  to 
stand  until  nearly  ripe,  and  then  is  cut  and  exposed  to  the  air 
and  sun  to  dry  so  as  to  make  hay. 


134 


AGRICULTURE 


Grasses.  — Among  the  best  pasture  and  hay  plants  are  some 
members  of  the  grass  family.  Those  that  spread  by  means  of 
rootstocks  or  underground  stems  are  especially  adapted  to  pastures. 
Plants  that  spread  by  the  seed  alone  would  soon  be  killed  by 
close  grazing,  which  prevents  their  maturing  seed.  Among  the 
best  pasture  grasses  are  the  blue  grasses,  meadow  fescues,  orchard 


Kentucky  blue  grass 


Buffalo  grass 
Three  Good  Pasture  Grasses 


Bermuda  grass 


grass,  redtop  or  herd's  grass,  and  Bermuda  grass.     Redtop  and 
timothy  make  excellent  hay. 

Many  farmers  sow  on  pasture  land  and  hayfields  a  mixture  con- 
taining several  varieties  of  grass.  This  produces  a  larger  crop 
and  exhausts  the  soil  less  than  one  variety,  because  different 
grasses  have  different  feeding  habits  and  requirements.  A  favorite 
mixture  is  timothy,  redtop,  orchard  grass,  and  clover. 

Most  of  the  true  grasses  flourish  best  in  cool  cHmates  and  on 
fertile  soil,  especially  on  hmestone  soils. 


FIELD,    ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS  135 

Bermuda  Grass. — In  the  South,  Bermuda  grass  makes  excellent 
summer  pasture.  Where  year-round  pasturage  is  desired,  the 
Bermuda  sod  is  harrowed  and  sowed  with  bur  clover  or  hairy 
vetch  to  furnish  winter  grazing.  Bermuda  grass  matures  seed 
only  in  tropical  countries ;  in  temperate  regions  it  spreads  by  means 
of  its  underground  stems  which  take  root  at  every  joint.  Owing 
to  this  habit  of  growth,  it  bears  close  pasturing  without  injury. 
It  grows  on  almost  any  soil,  however  poor,  and  is  especially  valu- 
able on  thin,  rolling  lands  disposed  to  wash.     Bermuda  is  a  sun- 


The  Product  of  a  Good  Pasture 

loving  grass  and  dies  when  shaded.  It  can  be  killed  in  a  season 
or  two  by  a  sowed  crop,  such  as  cowpeas. 

Corn.  —  Corn,  which  is  our  most  valuable  grain  plant,  is  also 
our  chief  forage  crop.  Its  uses  and  cultivation  are  described  on 
page  140. 

Sorghum.  —  In  the  South  and  Southwest,  especially  in  semi-arid 
lands,  Kafir  corn  and  other  varieties  of  sorghum  are  much  used 
for  forage.  Sorghum  resembles  corn  in  growth,  but  is  a  stronger 
feeder  and  so  thrives  better  on  thin  land.  It  endures  extremes 
of  heat  and  cold  well,  and  resists  drought  that  would  kill  corn. 


136 


AGRICaLTURE 


It  is  a  valuable  hay  crop  in  sections  where  redtop,  timothy,  and 
clover  cannot  be  grown. 

Rape.  —  Rape  is  a  valuable  crop  for  pasturing  and  soiling.  It 
is  easily  grown  and  furnishes  a  large  amount  of  forage  that  is 
especially  relished  by  sheep  and  hogs.  In  the  South  it  supphes 
late  fcjl  and  winter  grazing,  and  at  the  North  cheap  summer 
forage. 

Legumes. — The  most  profitable  fodder  crops  are  legumes. 
They  do  double  work,  —  fertihzing  the  soil,  as  you  have  learned. 


R 

351k 


P- 


741l>s 


p 

100  lbs. 

p.  A. 

33  Iks. 

Timothy 


Red  Clover 


COWPEAS 


Alfalfa 


This  diagram  shows  the  amount  of  potash,  phosphoric  acid,  and  nitrogen,  as  indicated 
by  initial  letters,  removed  from  an  acre  of  soil  by  different  hay  crops.  It  is  estimated  that 
timothy  will  yield  two  tons  of  cured  hay  to  the  acre;  red  clover,  two  tons;  cowpeas,  two 
tons ;  alfalfa,  three  tons.  The  shaded  figures  indicate  that  the  legumes,  under  proper  con- 
ditions, get  their  supply  of  nitrogen  from  the  air. 

and  also  furnishing  a  large  yield  of  excellent  feed.  Besides  luxu- 
riant foliage,  many  of  them  produce  seeds  having  a  high  food 
value.  They  are  strong-feeding  plants,  and  their  long  roots  pump 
up  food  that  is  out  of  reach  of  shallow-rooted  plants. 

In  the  large  legume  family  are  members  adapted  to  w^idely 
different  conditions.  Red  clover  is  the  one  most  widely  grown  in 
the  North,  cowpeas  and  crimson  clover  in  the  South,  and  alfalfa 
in  the  West.    No  one  of  them,  however,  is  limited  to  one  section. 

Red  Clover.  —  Red  clover  is  a  perennial  which  is  usually  culti- 
vated as  a  biennial.  It  makes  a  light  yield  the  first  season,  and  a 
heavy  yield  the  second  one.     It  is  often  sowed  with  grasses.    The 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN    CROPS 


137 


clover  dies  the  second  year,  leaving  the  field  in  grass.  Clover 
should  be  cut  for  hay  before  the  first  blossoms  turn  brown.  If  cut 
before  the  seeds  form,  it  will  put  out  again  and,  in  its  efforts  to 
seed,  will  make  a  heavy  second  crop.  If  cut  late,  after  the  seeds 
form,  the  second  crop  will  be  light.  Mammoth  clover  is  a  rank- 
growing  variety  of  red  clover. 


Red  clover 


Crimson  clover  Cowpeas 

Four  Valuable  Legumes 


Crimson  Clover.  —  Crimson  clover  is  an  annual  used  as  a  forage 
crop  in  the  central  and  southern  states.  It  requires  a  mild  cHmate 
and  thrives  on  lighter  soil  than  other  clovers.  It  is  sowed  in  the 
summer  or  fall,  furnishes  a  valuable  winter  cover  crop,  and  matures 
in  the  spring;  often  it  is  cut  or  plowed  under  to  give  place  to  a  crop 
of  cotton,  tobacco,  or  corn. 

Cowpeas.  —  Where  it  thrives,  the  cowpea  is  one  of  the  best 
forage  crops  and  soil  improvers.  It  is  a  tender,  strong-feeding 
annual.  It  grows  better  on  thin,  sandy  soil  than  any  other  forage 
crop,  and  adapts  itself  to  different  conditions  of  soil  and  moisture. 


138  AGRICULTURE 

Its  deep  roots  get  water  and  plant  food  from  the  subsoil.  The 
cowpea  grows  rapidly,  and  in  three  months  adds  to  the  soil  two 
thirds  as  much  fertility  as  does  red  clover  in  eighteen  months, 
besides  producing  a  larger  quantity  of  hay  of  equal  feeding 
value. 

Soy  Bean.  —  The  soy  bean  is  a  legume  with  many  of  the  good 
qualities  of  the  cowpea.  It  has  the  advantage  of  an  upright  growth 
and  greater  ability  to  resist  drought. 

Aljalja. — Alfalfa  is  a  wonderfully  productive  legume.  It  is 
the  principal  forage  plant  on  the  irrigated  lands  of  the  West.  It 
can  be  grown  in  all  sections  of  the  United  States,  where  the  soil  is 
properly  prepared  and  inoculated.  In  some  of  the  eastern  states 
it  is  called  lu  cerne',  the  name  by  which  it  is  known  in  Europe. 
Alfalfa  is  the  Arabic  name  used  by  the  Spaniards,  who  introduced 
it  into  Mexico. 

Alfalfa  roots  descend  ten  feet,  or  deeper,  and  use  food  and  water 
out  of  reach  of  most  crops.  The  land  for  it  must  be  fertile  and 
well  drained.  Alfalfa  is  a  slow-growing  plant  and  needs  to  be 
protected  against  quick-growing  weeds.  It  should  be  kept  mowed 
and  free  from  weeds. 

It  does  not  reach  its  prime  for  three  or  four  years,  but  produces 
from  three  to  seven  cuttings  of  hay  every  year  for  ten,  fifteen, 
twenty  years,  or  longer.  If  allowed  to  bloom  and  form  seeds  before 
it  is  mowed,  its  growth  and  vigor  are  lessened. 

Other  Legumes.  —  There  are  many  other  legumes  used  more  or 
less  extensively  for  pasturage  and  hay.  Canada  field  peas  and 
Alsike,  or  Swedish  clover,  require  a  cool  climate;  velvet  beans 
require  a  warm  one ;  vetches  and  Dutch,  or  white,  clover  thrive  in 
both. 

The  peanut  is  a  legume  which  is  cultivated  chiefly  for  the  nuts. 
These  are  used  for  food  and  candy  making,  and  for  an  oil  re- 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS 


139 


sembling  olive  oil.  The  vines,  properly  cured,  make  excellent  hay, 
which  is  relished  by  all  stock.  Peanuts  are  often  grown  as  a  crop 
to  be  harvested  by  hogs.  An  acre  of  peanuts  will  make  more  pork 
than  an  acre  of  cowpeas  or  corn. 

The  soil  should  be  kept  loose  by  cultivation  till  the  vines  run 
freely.  The  plant  flowers  like  a  pea  on  the  vine  and  then  forms 
the  nut  at  the  end  of  the  flower  spike.  This  turns  down  into  the 
ground  and  matures  underground.  The  crop  is  harvested  before 
frost,  and  the  vines  are  shocked  around  poles.  When  dry,  the  nuts 
are  picked  off. 


^ 


Courtesy  of  West  "Virginia  Agricultural  Station 

A  Crop  of  Timothy  Hay  which  yielded  8,527  Lb.  to  the  Acre 

Curing  Hay.  — The  feeding  value  of  hay  crops  depends  largely 
on  the  time  of  cutting  and  the  method  of  curing,  or  drying.  Cut 
too  early,  plants  are  immature,  sappy,  and  lack  nourishment.  Cut 
too  late,  the  nourishment  has  gone  to  form  seeds,  and  the  stems 
are  hard  and  woody.  When  it  flowers  fully,  the  whole  plant  is 
in  the  best  condition  for  hay,  full  of  nourishing  juices. 

It  requires  care  and  experience  to  cure  hay  properly.  Much 
depends  on  the  weather  before  and  during  the  season  of  curing. 


140  AGRICULTURE 

In  a  dry  season  hay  cures  easily.  If  it  continues  wet  and  plants 
are  full  of  sap,  care  is  needed  to  prevent  mildew  and  rot.  If 
cutting  is  followed  by  cold,  wet  weather,  the  crop  will  be  injured  or 
lost  in  spite  of  care. 

EXERCISE 

1.  Collect  specimens  of  true  grasses  and  legumes.  Compare  their 
different  parts,  —  roots,  stems,  leaves,  and  blossoms,  —  and  make  draw- 
ings of  them.  How  is  the  pollen  of  legumes  carried  ?  How  is  that  of 
true  grasses  conveyed  ? 

2.  What  are  the  best  pasture  and  hay  crops  of  your  section? 

3.  You  will  enjoy  raising  some  peanuts  and  observing  the  plants' 
habits  of  growth.  The  small  Spanish  peanuts  are  productive  and  are 
easy  to  raise. 

CORN,  WHEAT,  AND  OTHER  CEREALS 

Cereals.  —  Cereals  are  plants  of  the  grass  family  which  are 
cultivated  for  their  seed  or  grains.  Among  the  most  widely  culti- 
vated ones  are  corn,  wheat,  oats,  rye,  barley,  and  rice.  During 
the  early  stages  of  growth  there  is  much  nourishment  in  the  stems 
and  leaves  of  cereals,  and  they  are  sometimes  cut  then  for  green 
feed  or  hay.  Usually,  however,  they  are  allowed  to  ripen  their 
seeds,  —  the  grain  crop  so  valuable  for  food.  Much  of  the  plant's 
nourishing  substance  is  stored  in  the  grain,  but  the  leaves '  and 
stalk  are  still  useful  for  forage. 

Com.  —  Corn,  or  maize,  our  great  American  cereal,  is  probably 
a  native  of  tropical  America.  Long  before  Columbus  crossed  the 
ocean,  it  was  cultivated  as  a  bread  grain  by  Indian  tribes  in  the 
North  and  South,  the  East  and  West ;  and  still  from  Maine  to 
Florida,  from  Massachusetts  to  California,  the  summer  sun  shines 
on  broad,  waving  fields  of  corn. 

The  average  annual  crop  of  the  United  States  is  over  two  and  a 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS  141 

half  billion  bushels  of  grain,  —  three  fourths  of  the  world's  crop. 
This  is  used  as  food  for  man  and  beast,  and  as  material  for  the 
manufacture  of  starch,  alcohol,  and  many  other  products. 

The  grain,  however,  does  not  form  more  than  half  the  value  of 
the  corn  crop.  The  leaves  and  husks,  or  shucks,  and  stalk  con- 
tain more  nourishment  than    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

of  commercial  alcohol.  This 

is      alcohol     made      unfit     for     courtesy  of  Kentucky  Agricultural  station 

drinking,  but  useful  for  light,  ^^^^^'^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^"^ 

heat,  and  power.  Since  the  government  tax  has  been  removed 
from  commercial  alcohol,  corn  growers  have  a  new  source  of 
profit  and  of  cheap  power,  light,  and  fuel.  The  cornstalks  from 
an  acre  of  corn  yielding  fifty  bushels  of  grain  produce  about  one 
hundred  gallons  of  alcohol. 

Range.  —  Corn,  being  a  tropical'  plant,  thrives  best  in  a  warm 
climate  and  on  a  moist,  fertile  soil.  It  has,  however,  such  power  of 
adapting  itself  to  its  surroundings  that  it  has  a  wide  range  of  soil 
and  climate,  and  it  grows  in  all  sections  of  the  United  States. 
Indeed,  the  largest  average  yield  of  grain  in  the  country  is 
in  New   England,  with  its  poor  soil  and  short  growing  season. 


142  AGRICULTURE 

There  it  is  given   the   thorough  tillage  to  which  all  cereals  re- 
spond. 

Cultivation.  —  The  cultivation  of  the  corn  crop  should  begin 
before  it  is  planted.  The  plowing  should  be  deep  and  thorough. 
The  corn  should  be  planted  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  warm 
enough;  general  experience  is  that  early  planting  gives  the  best 
yield.  Growing  conditions  are  usually  more  favorable  in  the 
spring,  and  an  early  crop  is  less  often  injured  by  drought.  Flat, 
shallow  cultivation  is  best,  except  on  wet  lands  where  ridge  culti- 
vation  is   needed   for   drainage.     Deep   plowing  breaks   off  the 


A  Field  of  Corn  that  produced  One  Hundred  and  Thirty  Bushels 

TO  the  Acre 

roots  near  the  surface  that  are  busy  getting  air,  water,  and  food 
for  the  plants.  This  lessens  the  crop  yield.  In  dry  sections  corn 
is  often  Misted,' — that  is,  it  is  planted  in  furrows  which  are 
gradually  filled  by  cultivation  so  that  the  roots  range  deeper  and 
secure  more  moisture. 

Saving  Corn  Forage.  —  Farmers  are  naturally  desirous  of  saving 
both  the  forage  and  the  grain  of  this  valuable  crop.  Some  pull 
the  unripe  leaves  for  fodder  and  cut  the  tops  above  the  ears.  But 
this  requires  a  great  deal  of  labor  and  lessens  the  yield  of  grain. 
You  can  easily  see  why  it  is  so.  You  have  learned  how  important 
the  foliage  is  to  a  plant.    You  would  never  pull  the  leaves  Qff  a 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS  143 

grape  vine  and  expect  it  to  mature  a  full  crop  of  fruit ;  neither  can 
this  be  done  with  corn.  If,  however,  the  stalks  be  left  in  the  field 
until  the  grain  is  mature,  the  forage  loses  much  of  its  value. 

It  has  been  found  most  profitable  to  cut  the  whole  stalk  before  it 
is  quite  ripe.  The  leaves  and  stalk  then  continue  to  feed  the  grain 
and  mature  it  without  much  loss;  thus  both  grain  and  forage  are 
saved. 

It  is  a  laborious  undertaking  to  remove  the  corn  from  these  cut 


Cultivating  Corn 

Stalks,  shuck  or  husk  it,  and  cut  the  stalks  for  forage.  Sometimes 
the  stalks  are  -fed  whole,  as  '  sto'ver,'  but  there  is  much  waste, 
because  their  hard  fiber  keeps  them  from  being  fully  utilized  for 
food.  There  are  machines  which  remove  and  husk  the  corn  and 
cut  or  crush  the  stalks  into  a  coarse  hay  which  is  a  palatable  and 
nutritious  fodder. 

Fertilizers.  —  Some  plants  when  they  get  half  enough  food  ma- 
ture half  a  crop.  Corn,  however,  does  not.  When  it  is  dwarfed 
by  poor  soil,  it  produces  either  no  grain  or  a  small  and  inferior 
crop.  Therefore  poor  land  should  be  improved  by  legumes, 
manures,  and  fertilizers  before  it  is  planted  in  corn. 


144 


AGRICULTURE 


Place  in  Rotation.  —  As   corn   removes   humus   and  nitrogen 
from  the  soil,  it  should  follow  and  precede  crops  which  supply 


Corn  on  Sou.  too  Poor  to  yield  a  Profitable  Crop 

one  or  both  of  these.     Some  good  farmers  sow  rye  or  crimson 

clover  in  the  fall  on  land  to  be 
planted  in  corn  the  following 
spring,  and  plow  under  the  rye 
crop  or  clover  stubble. 

Improvement.  — The  average 
yield  of  corn  in  the  United 
States  is  only  twentv-four  bush- 

This  diagram  shows  the  amount  of  fertility  "'  . 

removed  from  an  acre  of  soil  by  avcrop  of  corn      ^tS  tO  tne  acrC.       It    IS    an   Casy 

yielding  forty  bushels  of  grain  and  3500  lbs.  of    ^rop  to  improvc  in  yield  and 

in  quality.  It  is  estimated  that 
the  yield  to  the  acre  could  easily  and  quickly  be  doubled  with 
very  little  increase  in  work  or  expense  by  improving  the  seed. 


P. 

58  lbs. 

N. 

37  lbs. 

N. 
27ibs. 

PA 

l-^lbs. 

Grain 


Forage 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN    CROPS 


145 


the  condition  of  the  soil,  and  the  methods  of  cultivation.  Thus 
each  farmer  could  raise  as  much  corn  as  he  is  now  producing 
on  half  the  land  with  Httle  more  than  half 
the  labor. 

Seed  Selection.  —  It  is  important  to  se- 
lect seed  corn  in  the  field,  so  as  to 
choose  ears  from  healthy,  productive 
plants.  A  farmer  planted  half  of  his 
field  with  seed  selected  in  the  field  and 
half  with  seed  selected  from  the  crib  con- 
taining his  best  corn. 
Soil  and  cultivation  were 
the  same.  The  seed  corn 
from  the  crib  yielded 
eighty  bushels  to  the 
acre ;  the  field-selected 
seed  yielded  ninety-six 
bushels. 

For  seed,  the  best  ears 
should  be  selected  from 
the  best  stalks.  The 
plants  should  be  stout 
and  healthy,  well  pro- 
vided with  leaves  so  as 

to  give  a  good  yield  of  fodder.  The  stalk  should 
bear  two  or  more  good  ears,  which  point  down- 
ward when  ripe.  The  size  and  shape  of  ear  and 
kernel,  the  arrangement  and  number  of  rows 
and  the  size  of  cob  should  be  carefully  consid- 
ered. The  ear  should  be  well  filled  out  at  both  ends;  the  rows 
should   be    straight   and    uniform;    and    tbs    grains    should   be 


A  good  stalk  from  which  to 
select  seed  corn 


A  good  ear  of  seed 
corn 


146 


AGRICULTURE 


wedge-shaped.      These   give  the  largest   grain  yield  to  the  ear, 

and  hence  to  the  acre. 

Seed  corn  should  be  raised  on  a  plot  where 
ft  will  not  mix  with  other  varieties.  It  should 
have  fertile  soil  and  careful  cultivation.  In 
thinning,  all  inferior  plants  should  be  destroyed. 
As  the  tassels  appear,  they  should  be  removed 
from  all  barren,  or  earless,  stalks.  If  these  tas- 
sels are  left,  their  pollen  fertilizes  the  productive 
plants,  and  the  number  of  barren  .stalks  in  the 
next  crop  is  increased. 

Wheat.  —  Wheat  has  been  raised  from  very 
ancient  times.  The  quantity  and  quahty  of  the 
crop  is  highest  in  cool  climates,  but  it  will  thrive 
in  a  variety  of  climates  if  given  proper  tillage 
and  fertilizing.  It  prefers  close,  firm,  rich  land. 
A  fertile  loam  is  best,  and  next  to  that  well- 
drained,  manured  clay.  Sandy  soils  are  poor- 
est for  wheat,  because  the  subsoil  is  apt  to  be 

A  bad  ear  of  seed  corn     ^qq  ODCn. 

Wheat  is  raised  in  all  sections  of  the  United  States.  It  is  third 
in  value  of  the  crops  of  the  country.  The  United  States  produces 
about  one  fifth  of  the 
three  billion  bushels 
which  the  world  con- 
sumes annually. 

The    great    wheat 
belt  of  America  is  in 
the    Northwest,     ex- 
tending from  Minnesota,  North  Dakota,  and  Montana  northward 
far  into  Canada.    This  section  is  capable  of  producing  the  entire 


Different  shaped  kernels  of  corn.     The  fourth  is  the  best 
shaped.     Why? 


FIELD,    ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS  147 

wheat  supply  of  the  world.     Unfertilized,  it  averages  twenty-four 
bushels  to  the  acre. 

The  average  production  of  the  United  States  is  only  thirteen 
bushels,  though  forty  is  not  an  uncommon  yield.  The  yield  to  the 
acre  of  the  rocky  New  England  farms  is  twice  as  large  as  the 


Seeding  Wheat  after  CoRxN 

fertile  wheat  lands  of  the  West,  because  the  eastern  farmers  pre- 
pare and  fertilize  the  seed  bed  better. 

Cultivation.  —  Thorough  preparation  of  the  soil  is  important  for 
two  reasons:  it  is  a  sowed  crop,  and  all  its  cultivation  must  be 
given  before  it  is  seeded;  it  is  a  weak-feeding  plant  which  has 
little  power  to  get  food  for  itself;  it  needs  to  have  the  soil  fertile 
and  mellow,  —  in  condition  to  furnish  it  food. 

Wheat  requires  a  firm  seed  bed  to  give  root  hold  and  to  bring 
up  water  and  food  by  capillarity.     It  needs,  also,  a  fine,  mellow 


148 


AGRICULTURE 


surface  to  favor  germination  and  early  growth.  To  secure  this 
firm  seed  bed,  the  land  should  be  plowed  deep  several  weeks 
before  seed  tiine.  To  secure  the  fine  surface,  it  should  be  harrowed 
repeatedly,  so  as  to  pulverize  the  two  or  three  inches  of  top  soil. 
The  last  working  should  be  with  the  smoothing  harrow,  followed 
by  the  roller  just  before  seeding  the  grain. 

Seed  can  be  sowed  much  more  economically  and  evenly  by  the  drill 
than  by  hand,  and  it  is  covered  uniformly  to  the  desired  depth. 
Good  seed  on  fertile,  we  11- prepared  land  is  apt  to  yield  a  bountiful 
harvest.  Failure  to  produce  good  crops  is  usually  due  to  poor, 
ill-prepared  land  and  late  plowing. 

A  field  of  ripening  wheat,  with  its  golden  waves  rippling  in  the 
breezes  under  the  summer  sunshine,  is  a  beautiful  sight.  How  the 
heart  of  the  farmer  is  gladdened  by  a  bountiful  harvest  as  the  re- 
ward of  his  labor  !  The  ripe  grain  is  cut  and  bound  into  bundles, 
called  '  sheaves.'  Formerly  this  had  to  be  done  by  hand,  but 
there  are  now  labor-saving  machines  for  the  purpose.  The  sheaves 
are  usually  placed  together  in  'shocks'. to  dry.  When  dry,  the 
wheat  is  threshed  to  separate  the  grain  from  the  chaff  and  straw ; 
the  grain  is  sent  to  the  mill  to  be  ground  into  flour ;  the  straw  is 

used  for  bedding  or  forage  for 
stock. 

Fertilizers.  —  Wheat  needs 
to  have  the  surface  soil  well 
supplied  with  plant  food.  It 
has  no  power  to  collect  nitro- 
gen for  itself,  and  but  small 
power  to  collect  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid.  Therefore 
when  these  three  elements  are  lacking  in  the  soil,  they  must  be 
supplied  by  well-rotted  stable  manure  and  by  commercial  ferti- 


N. 

23lbs. 

PA. 

lOlbs. 

P 
lOlbs. 

nibs. 

p. 
7  lbs. 

RA. 

Grain 


Straw 


This  diagram  shows  the  amount  of  fertility  re- 
moved from  an  acre  of  soil  by  a  crop  of  wheat 
yielding  twenty  bushels  of  grain  and  2000  lbs. 
of  straw. 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS 


149 


lizers.    Lime  is  beneficial,  making  plant  food  in  the  soil  avail- 
able. 

Place  in  Rotation. — One  of  the  best  and  cheapest  ways  of 
fertilizing  wheat  is  by  preceding  it  with  a  nitrogen-collecting, 
deep-rooted  crop,  such  as  clover  or  cowpeas;  this  leaves  the  soil 
firm  and  the  surface  well  supplied  with  plant  food.  After  a  legume, 
wheat  needs  potash  and  phosphoric  acid.  It  is  often  sowed  after 
tobacco  to  utilize  the  plant 
food  which  that  leaves  in 
the  surface  soil. 

Wheat  should  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  deep-rooted, 
strong-feeding  crop.  The 
worst  crops  to  precede  or 
follow  it  are  other  small 
grains  and  corn,  which 
make  practically  the  same 
demands  on  the  soil. 

Varieties.  —  There  are 
hundreds  of  varieties  of 
wheat  developed  chiefly 
by  care,  cultivation,  and 
selection.  A  Pennsylvania 
farmer,  passing  one  day 
through  his  field  of  bearded 
wheat,  found  a  plant  that 
was  beardless.  He  saved 
the  seed,  and  from  that  one  plant  was  produced  a  productive 
beardless  variety,  of  which  thousands  of  bushels  are  grown  every 
year. 

Certain  varieties  have  been  brought  from  Russia  which  have 


Courtesy  ol'  Ohio  Agricultural  Station 

BEARDLESS  AND   BEARDED  WHEAT 


ISO  AGRICULTURE 

such  power  to  resist  drought  that  they  extend  the  wheat-growing 
area  hundreds  of  miles  in  the  semi-arid  states  of  the  West  and 
Southwest.  Varieties  have  been  bred  which  thrive  on  thin  soils 
and  in  warm  climates  where  wheat  growing  has  hitherto  been 
unprofitable.  Many  improved  varieties  are  obtained  by  cross 
fertihzing  by  means  of  hand  pollination,  a  process  which  has  already 
been  explained.  The  Minnesota  Experiment  Station  has  bred  a 
variety  that  produces  five  bushels  an  acre  more  than  any  other 
variety  grown  in  that  section;  this  put  millions  of  dollars  into  the 
pockets  of  farmers  in  the  Northwest. 

Wheat  Breeding.  —  If  you  examine  the  wheat  blossom,  you  will 

understand  why  cross  fertilizing  is  rarely  accomplished  by  nature. 

The  head  is  made  up  of  many  separate  flowers.     Each  flower 

has  three  stamens  and  one  pistil,  inclosed  in  a  cover,  or  chaff,  so 

^^       ^  that  the  seed  is  self  fertihzed.    A 

^^^    ^^  ^.    ^  ^k,    wheat  breeder  carefully  removes 

m         ,^_      the  pollen  from  one  flower  and 


^ 


^la          "^  ^      .y^^  placesit  upon  the  pistil  of  another. 

^^  ^^    ^  P  Thus  from  two  good  plants,  by 

^.  ^  ^^  ^^      ^  repeated  efforts,  he  may  secure 

^1^          ^^  M        ^  one  better  than  either  of  its  par- 

^      ^  |§        ^     ^      d  ^^^^    Selection.  —  The    wheat 

^k                ^         ^^  ^  crop    can   be   greatly    improved 

•  ^     U          ^       M  by  careful  selection  of  seed.     A 

<@>  ^  busy  farmer  is   seldom  able   to 

Good  and  Bad  Seed  Wheat  select  seed  from  individual  plants, 

The  grains  at  the  left  are  plump  and  healthy ;    which  is  the   Way   that   many  im- 
those  on  the  right  are  shriveled,  i  •    ,•       .  r.^.    •       j        a 

^  proved  varieties  are  obtained.    A 

seed  strip,  however,  can  be  set  aside  in  the  best  portion  of  the  field. 

After  this  wheat  is  threshed,  it  should  be  graded  through  sieves 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS 


151 


N 
18.7  Ib5. 

P 
I6.7lb5. 

P.  A. 
Ulto. 

N. 

12  lbs. 

p. 

PA. 
6  lbs. 

Grain 


Straw 


in  order  to  obtain  the  large,  plump  grains.  The  best  of  this 
should  be  used  to  sow  a  seed  plot,  and  the  remainder  used  for 
the  field  crop. 

Any  variety  can  be  improved  by  raising  seed  every  year  in 
a  plot  given  special  care  and  preparation.  The  grain  should 
always  be  graded,  and  the  best  used  for  the  seed  plot  and  the  sec- 
ond best  for  the  field  crop.  Small  and  inferior  yields  are  often 
due  to  the  use  of  poor  seed,  especially  of  inferior,  shriveled  spring 
grain  for  fall  seeding. 

Oats,  Rye,  and  Barley.  —  Oats,  rye,  and  barley  resemble  wheat 
in  growth,  but  are  stronger-feed- 
ing plants  and  flourish  under 
less  favorable  conditions.  They 
should  be  preceded  or  followed 
by  deep-rooted  plants,  prefer- 
ably by  nitrogen-gathering  ones. 

These  small  grains  are  culti- 
vated in  the'  United  States  for 
three  purposes. 

First :  their  grain  crop  makes  wholesome  and  nourishing  food 
for  man  and  beast,  and  their  straw  is  used  for  forage.  Rye  and 
barley  are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  alcohol. 

Second :  these  cereals  make  a  good  crop  for  green  feed  or  for 
hay  if  cut  just  before  they  mature,  when  the  stalks  contain  most 
nourishment. 

Third:  they  are  used  as  winter  cover  crops.  For  this  purpose 
they  are  seeded  in  the  fall;  making  their  growth  during  the  winter, 
they  keep  the  land  from  washing  and  use  plant  food  which  would  be 
wasted;  they  are  then  plowed  under  in  the  spring  to  supply  the 
land  with  humus. 

Rice.  —  Rice  flourishes  in  warm  climates  and  is  raised  in  the 


This  diagram  shows  the  amount  of  fertility 
removed  from  an  acre  of  soil  by  a  crop  of 
oats  yielding  thirty  bushels  of  grain  and  2500 
lbs.  of  straw. 


152  AGRICULTURE 

southern  states,  especially  those  along  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  There 
are  two  distinct  varieties :  lowland  rice,  for  which  the  fields  have 
to  be  flooded  at  certain  seasons,  and  upland  rice,  which  is  culti- 
vated in  practically  the  same  way  as  other  cereals,  such  as  oats. 

For  lowland  rice  the  land  is  prepared  as  for  other  grain,  and  the 
rice  is  sowed  broadcast  or  put  in  drills  and  covered  to  a  depth  of 
about  two  inches.    Then  water  is  turned  on  from  irrigating  ditches 


Courtesy  of  Arkansas  Agricultural  Station 

Threshing  and  Loading  Rice 

and  is  allowed  to  stand  several  days.  It  is  then  drawn  off;  after 
the  plants  get  a  good  start,  it  is  turned  on  again  and  is  drawn  off 
before  harvest  time.  The  crop  is  harvested  and  threshed  very 
much  like  wheat. 

The  fact  that  the  water  needed  is  supphed  by  irrigation  makes 
it  practically  a  sure  crop;  and  it  is  proving  a  profitable  crop  in 
Texas  and  Louisiana  and  other  states  where  climate  and  moisture 
conditions  are  favorable. 

EXERCISE 

1.  Plant  grains  of  each  of  the  cereals  in  a  box  with  glass  sides,  as 
described  in  experiment  4  on  page  72,  and  watch  and  compare  the  de- 
velopment of  the  plants. 

2.  Cultivate  in  carefully  prepared  plots  each  one  of  these  six  cereals 
that  is  adapted  to  your  climate  and  conditions.     Compare  their  habits 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,    AND   GARDEN    CROPS  153 

of  growth  and  especially  their  seed  heads.  Select  good  varieties  and 
try  to  make  them  better  by  good  cultivation  and  careful  seed  selec- 
tion. 

3.  Plant  in  one  row  small,  shrunken  grains  of  wheat  and  in  the  row 
next  to  it  large,  plump  grains.  Is  there  any  difference  in  plants  and  yield 
in  the  two  rows? 

4.  Obtain  from  your  state  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  the  score 
cards  which  it  uses  in  judging  corn,  wheat,  and  other  grains.  Get 
from  farmers  or  raise  for  yourself  some  of  the  varieties  most  popular 
in  your  neighborhood.  Select  five  or  ten  of  the  best  ears  of  each  variety, 
and  mark  the  points  on  a  score  card. 

5.  Select  an  ear  of  corn  that  has  short  grains  and  one  of  about  the 
same  size  that  has  long  wedge-shaped  grains.  Shell  each  and  measure 
the  grain  to  see  which  yields  most.  Weigh  grain  and  cob  of  each 
separately.  What  per  cent  of  each  is  corn  and  what  per  cent  is  cob? 
Good  seed  corn  gives  eighty-five  per  cent  grain. 


COTTON  AND  OTHER  FIBER  PLANTS 

Fiber  Materials.  — There  are  four  great  staples  which  provide 
us  materials  for  the  fabrics  which  we  use  for  so  many  purposes. 
Two  of  these,  silk  and  wool,  are  animal  products;  two,  cotton  and 
flax,  are  vegetable  ones.  The  United  States  imports  three  of  these 
staples,  silk,  wool,  and  flax,  usually  manufactured  into  fabrics; 
the  fourth,  cotton,  is  our  chief  export  and  furnishes  material  for 
one  of  our  most  valuable  manufacturing  industries. 

Uses  of  Cotton.  —  While  the  cotton  plant  is  raised  primarily 
for  its  fiber,  other  parts  are  useful,  also.  The  seed  furnishes  an 
oil  valuable  for  illuminating,  cooking,  and  other  purposes;  the 
hulls  and  meal  left  from  the  manufacture  of  oil  are  used  for  stock 
feed  and  fertilizer.  The  root  bark  is  used  as  a  medicine,  and  the 
stalk  fiber  is  woven  into  coarse  cloth  for  bagging.  Recently, 
machuiery  has  been  perfected  to  make  paper  out  of  the  stalks; 


154 


AGRICULTURE 


this  will  doubtless  increase  the  annual  value  of  the  crop  about  a 
hundred  million  dollars. 

Range  and  Cultivation.  — The  cotton  plant  is  of  tropical  origin, 
and  its  successful  culture  is  limited  to  the  region  south  of  latitude 


Chopi'inc;  Cotton  on  a  Plantation  in  Louisiana 

thirty-seven.  It  needs  a  long  growing  season,  —  at  least  six 
months  free  from  frost,  —  an  abundant,  even  rainfall  during  its 
growing  period,  and  much  sunshine,  especially  during  its  ripening 
season. 

Where  climate  and  rainfall  are  favorable,  it  will  thrive  in  almost 
any  soil.     It  prefers,  however,  a  medium  loam. 

After  the  plants  come  up,  many  good  farmers  run  a  harrow 
crosswise  over  the  field,  to  destroy  young  weeds  and  to  thin  the 
cotton.  The  final  thinning,  or  '  chopping  to  a  stand,'  should  be 
done  while  the  plants  are  small.  If  this  be  delayed  too  long, 
they  become  stunted  and  never  regain  their  vitality.  The  cultiva- 
tion should  be  clean  and  shalloW;  so  as  to  destroy  weeds  and  to 


FIELD,    ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS 


155 


preserve  a  soil-mulch,  but  not  to  break  the  surface  roots.  It  should 
not  continue  too  late,  else  it  will  produce  growth  at  expense  of 
fruit. 

The  great  labor  of  cotton  production  is  picking  the  crop,  —  a 
tedious  and  costly  operation  which  has  to  be  performed  by  hand. 
Then  the  fiber  is  ginned  to  remove  the  seed,  and  the  lint  is  pressed 
by  machinery  into  large  bundles,  called  '  bales,'  each  weighing 
about  five  hundred  pounds.  The  baled  cotton  is  sent  to  mills, 
where  it  is  spun  into  thread  and  woven  into  cloth. 

Cotton  makes  only  moderate  demands  on  the  soil,  but  it  is  often 
profitable  to  use  fertilizers  to  hasten  its  maturity.  When  plant 
food  is  scarce  or  unavailable, 
cotton  needs  to  have  supplied 
phosphoric  acid,  nitrogen,  and 
potash.  The  cheapest  way  to 
furnish  the  nitrogen  is  usually 
to  precede  cotton  w^ith  a  nitro- 
gen-gathering crop,  such  as 
cowpeas  or  crimson  clover. 
If  this  is  done,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  furnish  only  the 
cheap  mineral  elements,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash. 

Cotton  lint  is  composed  almost  entirely  of  carbon,  obtained  from 
the  air.  If  only  this  be  removed,  cotton  takes  less  fertility  from 
the  land  than  almost  any  other  crop.  The  seeds  remove  twenty- 
one  times  as  much  mineral  matter  as  does  the  lint.  They  should 
be  replaced  by  their  equivalent  in  fertihzing  elements.  'Re- 
placed,' we  say,  for  good  farmers  now  seldom  use  cotton  seed 
for  a  fertilizer,  as  they  did  some  years  ago,  while  poor  ones  left 
them  to  accumulate  around  the  gin,  like  sawdust  around  a  mill. 

Now  the  seeds  ure  usually  sold  to  oil  mills,  which  extract  the  oil. 


S  s  s 


N 
34  lbs. 

RA. 

14  lbs 

p 

13  IDs. 

Fiber  Seed 

This  diagram  shows  the  amount  of  potash^ 
phosphoric  acid,  and  nitrogen  removed  from 
an  acre  of  soil  by  a  crop  of  cotton,  producing 
a  bale  of  cotton  and  1000  lb.  of  seed. 


156 


AGRICULTURE 


The  hulls  and  meal  left  from  the  process  are  used  as  fertilizer  or 
stock  feed. 

Place  in  Rotation.  —  Cotton,  as  already  stated,  removes  from 
the  land  less  fertility  than  almost  any  other  crop.  Why  is  it, 
then,  that  cotton  farms  are  so  often  poor  and  '  run  down  '  ? 
This  is  due  to  unwise  and  improper  cultivation.  The  one-crop 
system  prevails  largely  throughout  the  cotton  section.  The  same 
land  is  put  in  cotton  year  after  year.     Being  a  clean  crop,  it  destroys 

humus.  Being  gath- 
ered late,  it  often 
leaves  the  land  bare 
through  the  winter 
to  lose  more  by 
leaching  and  wash- 
ing than  by  its  sum- 
mer crop. 

Cotton  should 
take  its  place  in  a 
regular  rotation  and 
should  stay  there. 
In  this  rotation  there 
should  be  a  nitro- 
gen-gathering, hu- 
mus-producing crop. 
Crimson  clover 
should  be  sowed  in  cotton,  at  the  last  working,  or  rye,  after  it  is 
gathered,  to  furnish  a  winter  cover-crop. 

Sea  Island  and  Upland  Cotton.  — There  are  two  kinds  of  cotton 
raised  in  the  United  States,  sea  island  and  upland.  The  sea  island 
cotton  flourishes  on  the  islands  and  along  the  coast  of  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Florida.     It  needs  a  hot,  humid  chmate. 


Cotton  Bolls 
On  the  left  is  American  upland ;  on  the  right,  sea  island. 


FIELD,    ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS 


57 


Its  long,  beautiful,  silky  staple,  or  fiber,  is  much  valued  for  making 
lace  and  thread.  The  yield  is  smaller  than  that  of  the  short-stapled 
upland  varieties  which  are  cultivated  in  most  of  the  cotton  belt. 

Wilt  and  Weevils.  —  Within  recent  years  the  cotton  crop  in 
some  sections  has  suffered  much  from  disease  and  insect  ravages. 
The  sea  island  cotton  v^^as  attacked  by  a  wilt  disease  which  de- 
stroyed entire  crops;  cotton  grown  on  the  same  land  for  years 
afterward  was  almost  sure  to  be  attacked 
by  this  deadly  leaf  wilt.  By  careful 
selection  of  resistant  plants,  a  wilt-resist- 
ing variety  was  bred.  The  upland  cot- 
ton in  Texas  was  attacked  by  the  Mexi- 
can boll  weevil,  which  is  gradually  in- 
festing the  cotton-growing  region.  You 
will  learn  more  about  this  insect  in  the 
chapter  on  Crop  Enemies.  Although  it 
has  done  great  damage,  the  boll  weevil 
has  been  of  some  use,  as  it  is  causing 
southern  farmers  to  improve  their  cul- 
tural methods. 

Seed  Selection.  —  Plants  for  seed 
should  be  selected  with  care  in  the 
field,  and  marked  before  picking  begins.  They  should  be 
thrifty,  free  from  disease,  and  should  have  many  and  large  bolls. 
The  fiber  should  be  long  rather  than  short.  The  selected  seed 
should  be  planted  in  a  separate  plot  and  carefully  tended.  From 
the  best  plants  seed  should  be  saved  for  next  year'^s  seed  plot,  and 
from  the  others  seed  for  the  field  crop.  No  seed  '  runs  out ' 
more  quickly  than  cotton  where  careful  selection  is  not  practiced. 

Flax.  —  Flax  is  another  valuable  fiber  plant.    The  long,  fine, 
tough  fibers  of  its  stem  are  used  for  making  linen.     Flax  seed,  or 


Staple,  or  fiber,  showing  dif- 
ference in  length  between  up- 
land and  sea  island  cotton. 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN  CROPS 


159 


linseed  as  its  seed  are  often  called,  are,  like  cotton  seed,  rich  in  oil. 
This  linseed  oil  is  used  for  mixing  paints  and  varnishes  and  for 
other  purposes.  The  hulls  and  meal  from  which  the  oil  has  been 
extracted  are  a  valuable  stock  feed,  rich  in  fer- 
tilizing elements. 

Cultivation.  —  Flax  prefers  a  cool,  moist  cli- 
mate. It  thrives  on  a  deep,  well-cultivated  loam. 
It  grows  to  a  height  of  two  or  three  feet,  bearing 
clusters  of  pretty  blue  or  white  flowers  at  the 
ends  of  the  branches.  The  best  fiber  is  obtained 
from  the  stalks  of  plants  that  are  grown  close 
together  and  are  pulled  soon  after  blossoming. 
Usually,  however,  they  are  sowed  thinner  and  are 
allowed  to  ripen  seed  for  oil. 

Like  cotton,  the  flax  crop  has  been  threatened 
by  wilt  disease,  but  of  this  also  a  wilt-resisting 
variety  has  been  bred. 

Hemp.  —  Hemp,  like  flax,  flourishes  on  a 
moist,  fertile  soil.  If  the  soil  be  rich  and  the 
weather  moist  and  warm,  the  plants  grow  rap- 
idly and  form  long  fibers.  Stunted  plants  pro- 
duce short,  inferior  fiber.  The  fiber,  the  cells 
of  its  inner  bark,  is  coarser  than  flax;  it  is 
used  to  make  coarse  cloth  and  rope. 


EXERCISE 

1.  Grow  cotton,  flax,  and  hemp  in  well-cultivated 
plots. 

2.  Sow  some  of  the  flax  thick  and  some  thin. 
Observe  the  difference  in  branching  and  flowering. 

3.  Separate  and  examine  the  flax  and  the  hemp  fiber, 
them  with  cotton. 


A,  flax  fiber ;  B,  hemp 
fiber 


Compare 


l60  AGRICULTURE 


TOBACCO 


The  Tobacco  Plant.  —  America  has  contributed  few  agricultural 
plants  to  the  world.  Among  these  are  the  white  potato,  the  sweet 
potato,  corn,  and  tobacco.  Potatoes  and  corn  are  useful  foods; 
the  tobacco  is  not  a  food  plant. 

Uses.  — The  leaves  are  used  for  chewing  and  smoking.  They 
contain  a  stimulating  compound  called  nic'o  tine.  In  its  pure 
condition  nicotine  is  a  poison,  and  every  man  who  uses  tobacco 
takes  into  his  system  more  or  less  of  this  poison. 

History.  — The  Indians  raised  little  patches  of  tobacco  and 
used  the  pipe  for  private  comfort  and  public  ceremony.  In  the 
sixteenth  century,  the  weed  was  introduced  into.  Europe  and  its 
use  became  a  fashion  and  a  habit.  Cultivating  the  crop  for  the 
European  market  was  one  of  the  first  American  agricultural 
industries.  The  estates  on  which  it  was  cultivated  were  called 
'  plantations  '  because,  instead  of  being  raised  Hke  most  agri- 
cultural crops,  the  seeds  were  raised  in  a  seed  bed  and  the  young 
plants  set  in  the  field. 

Range.  — Tobacco  grows  from  the  equator  to  Canada.  It  is 
raised  chiefly  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States,  but  is  suc- 
cessfully grown  on  the  irrigated  lands  of  the  West.  Its  quality 
depends  largely  on  the  amount  and  season  of  water  supply,  and 
where  this  is  regulated  by  irrigation,  tobacco  proves  a  sure  and 
profitable  crop. 

Soil  and  Climate.  —  No  other  field  crop  is  so  much  affected  by 
conditions  of  soil.  A  variety  changes  its  character  entirely  on 
different  soils.  On  a  fertile  clay,  it  may  produce  large,  heavy 
plants  with  leaves  rich  in  oil  or  gum,  which  cure  dark  red  or 
brown.    On   a   light,  sandy  soil,  this  same  variety  w^ill  produce 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN    CROPS 


l6l 


thin  leaves  of  fine  texture,  which  cure  yellow  or  mahogany  color. 
Bright  tobacco  cannot  be  raised  on  clay,  nor  heavy  tobacco  on 
sandy  land. 

The  farmer  must  consider  his  soil  and  climate,  and  must  grow 
the  variety  to  which  these  are  adapted.  While  the  type  of  tobacco 
depends  upon  soil  and  climate,  the  grade  depends  upon  cultiva- 
tion, fertilizing,  and  curing. 


N't;  TonAC 


Cost.  —  The  raising  of  the  crop  requires  skill  and  experience  and 
prompt  attention  to  every  detail.  The  rewards  of  success  are 
large,  but  the  risks  are  many  and  the  cost  of  producing  the  crop  is 
great.  Tobacco  is  an  expensive  crop  in  several  ways;  it  costs 
the  farmer  much  labor,  it  costs  the  farm  much  fertility,  —  and  if 
weather  conditions  be  unfavorable,  in  spite  of  labor  and  fertility 
the  crop  is  a  failure. 

Cultivation.  —  Tobacco  plants  are  grown  in  a  carefully  prepared 
seed-bed,  often  under  cover  to  protect  them  from  frost  and  insects. 


1 62 


AGRICULTURE 


The  land  for  the  crop  is  plowed  deep,  harrowed  fine,  and  well 

supplied  with  plant  food. 
The   plants  must  be  transplanted,  preferably  when  the  weather 

is   moist   and  cloudy,  and  given  frequent  shallow  cultivation  to 

keep  the  soil  free  from  weeds 
and  in  good  condition.  They 
must  be  protected  against 
worms  by  poison  or  by  picking. 
They  are  '  topped,'  —  that  is, 
the  main  stem  is  broken  off, 
leaving  a  certain  number  of 
leaves,  —  to  make  the  leaves 

bacco  producing  icx^  lbs.  of  leaves  and  1750    ^^  ^^^^  ^^  gj^C  and  QUaHty  and 
lbs.  of  stalks.  ^  ''  . 

time  of  ripening  as  possible. 
After  the  plant  is  topped,  in  its  efforts  to  continue  its  growth  it 
throws    out  '  suckers,'  or  shoots,   from  the  joints   of   the   stem; 


y 


p. 

49.5  lbs. 

P. 
27.5  lbs. 

N. 
36ll«. 

Mb 

N. 
I7.5lbs. 

STALKS 


Leaves 

This  diagram  shows  the  amount  of  fertility 
removed  from  an  acre  of  soil  by  a  crop  of  to- 


TOISACC^O   SKKDI.IXOS    from    TJGIIT,    MEDHM,    and    lIl'.A.  i   ; 

these  must  be  kept  pinched  off  so  as  not  to  lessen  the  leaves' 
supply  of  food. 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN    CROPS 


163 


I 


Slight  changes  in  color  and  texture  indicate  to  the  experienced 
hand  and  eye  when  the  plants  are  ripe.  The  leaves  are  then 
pulled  or  the  plants  cut,  and  they  are  cured,  —  often  by  carefully 
regulated  artificial  heat.  The  curing,  sorting,  and  handling  of 
the  crop  are  operations  that  require  skill,  practice,  and  much  labor. 

Fertilizers.  — Tobacco  is  a  greedy  feeder  which  requires  large 
quantities  of  food,  especially  of  nitrogen  and  potash.  For  heavy 
tobacco,  these  are  suppHed  largely  by  stable  manure  and  by  gen- 
eral enrichment  of  the  soil.  For  bright  tobacco,  commercial 
fertihzers  are  generally  used  to  give  the  leaf  the  desired  color 
and  texture.  Crop  rotation,  manures,  and 
legumes  are  necessary  to  keep  up  the 
fertihty  of  the  soil. 

Place  in  Rotation.  —  As  tobacco  is  such 
a  large  consumer  of  plant  food,  it  should 
be  preceded  or  followed  by  a  nitrogen- 
gathering  crop,  such  as  cowpeas  or 
clover.  It  is  often  followed  by  wheat  or 
other  small  grain  that  uses  the  plant  food 
which  it  leaves  in  the  surface  soil. 

Seed  Selection. — The  seed  plants  should 
be  carefully  selected  and  should  be  those 
which  come  nearest  the  farmer's  ideal  of 
what  he  would  like  every  plant  to  be. 
They  should  be  healthy  plants  with  well- 
shaped  leaves,  and  as  free  from  suckers 
as  possible.  Just  before  it  blooms,  the 
flower  head  should  be  inclosed  in  a  paper  bag,  in  order  to 
prevent  its  receiving  pollen  from  inferior  plants. 

The  seed  should  be  graded,  so  as  to  separate  the  different 
sizes  and  weights.    Large   and  heavy  seeds  produce  strong  and 


Tobacco  Plant 
Bagged  for  seed 


t64  agriculture 

vigorous  plants.  By  careful  field  selection  of  seed  every  year, 
a  farmer  can  grade  up  and  improve  the  quality  and  yield  of  a 
variety. 

EXERCISE 

1.  Raise  several  plants  of  tobacco,  trying  to  give  them  as  favorable 
conditions  as  possible.  Leave  one  or  two  of  the  best  plants  to  mature 
seed. 

2.  Top  the  other  plants  at  different  heights,  leaving  from  eight  to 
fourteen  leaves.     What  difference  does  this  make  in  the  leaves? 

3.  Pull  and  dry  the  leaves.  Take  an  equal  weight  of  tobacco  leaves 
and  of  dry  fodder  and  burn  both.  What  difference  is  there  in  the  way 
they  burn?  It  is  the  large  amount  of  potash  in  the  tobacco  which 
causes  it  to  burn  so  readily.  Compare  the  amount  of  ash  left  by 
the  tobacco  leaves  and  by  the  fodder.  Can  you  account  for  the 
difference  ? 


SUGAR-PRODUCING  PLANTS 

There  are  tv^o  great  sugar-producing  crops  that  are  raised  in 
the  United  States,  —  sugar  cane  in  the  South  and  sugar  beets  in 
the  North.  ' 

Sugar  Cane.  —  Sugar  cane  is  a  tropical  member  of  the  grass 
family.  It  is  cultivated  for  the  sweet  juice  laid  up  in  the  cells  of 
its  stalk.  Sirup,  molasses,  and  sugar  are  made  from  this  juice. 
Sugar  cane  is  extensively  grown  in  the  South,  especially  in  the 
Gulf  States. 

It  is  a  perennial,  reproduced  by  cuttings,  which  are  pieces  of  the 
stalk  containing  '  eyes,'  or  buds.  Generally,  two  or  three  crops 
are  grown  from  a  planting.  In  spring  or  fall  the  stalk  cuttings  are 
buried  in  furrows.  They  soon  begin  to  send  up  sprouts.  The 
crop  is  cultivated  like  corn.    Like  corn,  it  requires  a  fertile  soil 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS 


165 


and  it  requires  a  great  deal  of  water.     If  water  and  plant  food 
be  supplied,  it  will  thrive  on  any  well-drained  soil. 

The  stalks  are  cut  in  the  fall,  and 
crushed  in  mills.  The  juice  is  boiled 
and  evaporated  to  form  a  sirup. 
There  are  several  different  methods 
of  evaporating  this  juice  so  as  to 
separate  it  into  sugar  and  molasses. 

Sorghum.  —  Sorghum  is  another 
member  of  the  grass  family  which 
has  a  sweet  juice  in  its  cells.  Sor- 
ghum thrives  where  it  is  too  cool 
and  too  dry  for  sugar  cane.  Its 
juice  is  extracted  and  boiled  down 
to  form  sirup  or  molasses.  By  selec- 
tion of  seed  from  plants  rich  in 
sugar,  the  per  cent  of  sugar  has  been 
largely  increased. 

Sugar  Beets.  — The  sugar  beet  in- 
dustry was  developed  in  Europe  by 
selecting  and  cultivating  beets  so 
as  to  increase  the  quantity  of  sugar 
they  contain.  Small  pieces  of  the 
roots  were  tested,  and  those  having 
the  largest  amount  of  sugar  were 
planted  for  seed.  Thus  the  quantity 
of  sugar  has  been  increased  from  eight  to  eighteen  per  cent. 
Roots  have  been  raised  of  which  twenty-five  per  cent,  one  fourth 
of  the  whole,  was  pure  sugar. 

Within  recent  years  the  sugar  beet  industry  has  been  introduced 
into  the  United  States.    A  section  of  the  northern  part  of  the 


Sugar  Cane 


1 66 


AGRICULTURE 


country,  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic,  is  well  adapted  to  the 
crop.  The  soil  must  be  fertile,  well  drained,  and  well  cultivated. 
r  The    mature    beets   are   dug 

and  sent  to  the  factory.  There 
they  are  cleaned,  the  juice  ex- 
tracted, and  the  sugar  obtained 
from  it  by  evaporation. 

Sugar,  like  cotton,  is  formed 
from  the  carbon  of  the  air; 
therefore,  if  the  leaves  and 
pulp  be  returned  to  the  fields 
or  used  for  stock  feed  and 
the  manure  put  on  the  land, 
the  crop  removes  little  fertil- 
ity from  the  soil. 

EXERCISE 

1.  Cultivate  some  specimens 
of  the  crop  plants  mentioned 
here.  Where  the  cHmate  is  too 
cool  for  sugar  cane,  sorghum 
may  thrive. 

2.  Compare  the  sweetness  of 
cane    cut    from    green    plants, 

, .   .  from  those  just  about  to  flower, 

A  sugar  beet  root  which  tested  24  per  cent  ,   .  ,  ,         , 

sugar.    An  acre  of  such  beets  would  yield      ^nd  from  those  that  have  gone 
42,000  lb.  of  sugar.  to  seed. 


THE  ORCHARD   AND   ITS  CARE 

Our    common    fruits  —  apple,    pear,    quince,    peach,  plum, 

apricot,   and   cherry  —  all    belong   to    the   rose   family ;  so    do 

the  strawberry,  raspberry,  and  blackberry.    The  orange,  lemon, 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN    CROPS 


167 


I 


and   lime   belong   to   the   citrus   family,    which   is   a   native  of 
Asia. 

The  Apple.  — The  apple  is  more  widely  grown  in  the  United 
States  than  any  other  fruit.  Like 
the  Caucasian  race,  it  is  not  a 
native  of  America,  but  finds  here 
a  congenial  home.  It  thrives  in 
all  sections  and  on  almost  all  soils. 
There  are  hundreds  of  varieties, 
differing  in  flavor,  appearance,  and 
ripening  season.  By  selecting  sum- 
mer, fall,  and  winter  apples  ad- 
apted to  his  locality,  every  farmer 
can  have  the  fresh  fruit  through- 
out the  year.  * 

The  Pear. — There  are  two 
groups  of  pears  cultivated  in  the 
United  States.  The  European  vari- 
eties, derived  from  the  native  pear 
of  Europe,  are  the  better  flavored; 
the  Oriental  ones,  derived  from  the 
native  pear  of  China  and  Japan, 
are  vigorous  growers  and  produc- 
tive, but  are  usually  inferior  in 
quahty  of  fruit.  The  Bartlett  and  Seckel  are  European  pears,  the 
Kieffer  is  an  Oriental  one. 

Standard  pears  are  those  grafted  or  budded  on  pear  roots; 
dwarfs  are  those  grown  on  quince  roots ;  they  are  smaller  and  come 
into  bearing  earlier. 

The  Peach.  —  Break  open  a  peach  stone  and  notice  how  much 
the  seed  resembles  an  almond.    The  two  are  closely  related,  and 


K^.  ^-4  ygMn 

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^^^1 

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f-  '^^^^1 

^^^M.^^^'4      .'      F^ 

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m\M 

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Courtesy  of  Delaware  Agncultiiral  Station 

Blossoms  of  Chinese  Cling  Peach 


1 68  AGRICULTURE 

both  are  natives  of  the  Old  World.  The  peach  thrives  best  in  a 
sandy  soil.  It  does  well  on  a  clay  soil,  however,  if  it  be  well  drained. 
Peach  trees  come  into  bearing  early  and  are  short-lived.  They 
are  often  planted  between  apple  trees  in  an  orchard;  they  mature 
and  can  be  cut  out  before  the  apple  trees  begin  to  bear. 

The  Cherry.  — The  cherry,  Hke  the  peach,  prefers  a  light  soil. 
There  are  many  varieties  of  wild  cherries  in  America,  but  most 
of  our  cultivated  cherries  are  derived  from  two  European  varieties, 
the  hearts  and  the  mo  rel  los.  The  morellos,  which  are  sour,  are 
the  hardier. 

The  Plum.  —  Plums  prefer  a  clay  soil.  Those  grown  on  peach 
roots,  however,  thrive  on  sandy  soils.  The  gage  and  other  Euro- 
pean varieties  thrive  in  the  northern  states;  the  Japanese  ones 
are  better  adapted  to  the  South;  in  the  Northwest, only  the  native 
American  plums  are  hardy. 

The  Lemon,  Orange,  and  Citrange.  —  Oranges  and  lemons  are 
tender  tropical  trees.  They  are  grown  in  our  southern  states, 
but  even  in  Florida  the  weather  is  sometimes  severe  enough  to 
injure  or  even  to  destroy  them. 

Scientists  are  trying  to  breed  hardy  fruits  of  this  family,  and 
doubtless  they  will  succeed.  A  new  fruit,  the  cit  range',  has  been 
created  by  crossing  the  little  hardy  Japanese  orange  with  the 
Florida  orange.  The  citrange  is  so  acid  that  it  resembles  the  lemon 
more  than  the  orange;  it  is  quite  hardy  in  the  Gulf  and  South 
Atlantic  states. 

How  Fruit  Trees  are  Raised.  —  If  you  wish  a  crop  of  a  certain 
kind  of  corn,  you  plant  seed  of  that  variety.  But  this  is  not  the 
way  in  which  you  get  a  desired  variety  of  apples  or  pears.  Their 
seed  do  not  *  come  true,'  as  farmers  say.  Seedlings,  or  trees  from 
seeds,  instead  of  resembhng  their  parents,  may  be  like  the  wild 
fruits  from  which  they  originated.     You  may  plant  seed  from  a 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS  169 

large,  sweet,  red  apple  and  raise  a  tree  bearing  small,  sour,  green 
fruit. 

Most  fruit  trees  are  grown  by  budding,  a  method  which  has 
already  been  mentioned.  The  process  requires  considerable  care 
and  skill.  Farmers  usually  prefer  to  leave  it  to  professional  fruit- 
growers and  to  buy  trees  ready  for  planting.  How  does  the  fruit- 
grower raise  a  tree  ?    Take  an  apple,  for  instance. 

The  seeds  are  planted  in  the  spring.  The  httle  seedhng  is 
grafted  the  next  winter  or  budded  the  following  summer  with 
a  graft  or  bud  of  the  desired  variety. 

Grafting.  —  Grafting  is  done  during  the  dormant  season  when 
the  tree  is  not  growing.  The  top  of  the  seedling,  or  '  stock  ' 
as  it  is  called  in  grafting,  is  cut  off.  The  '  sd'on,'  which  is  a  straight 
vigorous  twig  of  last  year's  growth  of  the  desired  variety,  is  cut 
so  as  to  fit  the  stock  as  closely  as  possible.  The  cambium  of  one 
must  touch  that  of  the  other,  for  this  is  the  living  part  of  the  tree 
and  through  it  the  sap  must  pass  from  one  to  the  other.  If  the 
cambiums  do  not  unite,  the  scion  dies  for  lack  of  nourishment. 
The  joining  of  the  scion  and  stock  must  be  air-tight;  it  is  covered 
with  grafting  wax,  made  of  beeswax,  tallow,  and  linseed  oil.  Then 
the  graft  is  wrapped  to  hold  the  scion  firmly  in  place. 

Budding.  —  Budding  is  sometimes  preferred  to  grafting.  Bud- 
ding is  done  in  the  summer  during  the  growing  season.  A  bud 
from  the  desired  variety  is  inserted  into  a  T-shaped  cut  in  the  bark 
of  the  stock  or  seedling.  The  joining  is  covered  with  wax  and 
wrapped  to  exclude  the  air  and  to  hold  the  bud  in  place.  The  next 
spring  this  wrapping  is  removed.  The  top  of  the  stock  is  cut  off 
so  as  to  throw  sap  and  growth  into  the  bud  shoot. 

Transplanting. — The  grafted  or  budaed  tree  is  left  to  grow 
one  or  two  or  more  years.  Then  it  is  set  out  in  the  orchard.  It 
is  called  one  or  two  or  three  years  old,  according  to  the  age  of  the 


I/O 


AGRICULTURE 


bud  or  graft.  The  root  is  a  year  older.  A  vigorous  tree,  one  or 
two  years  old,  is  generally  better  than  one  of  more  advanced  age. 
The  larger  the  tree,  the  more  difficult  it  is  to  transplant  it  without 
injury  to  the  root  system. 

Twig  Budding  or  Grafting.  —  By  budding  or  grafting  its  branches, 
We  can  have  many  varieties  on  a  tree.    One  apple  tree  may  bear 


The  Course  of  Failure  through  Five  Years 

This  tree  is  improperly  set,  iinpruned,  uncultivated,  and  neglected;    it  grows  slowly,  is 
badly-shaped  and  diseased. 

summer  and  fall  and  wn'nter  varieties;  there  are  grafted  trees 
which  yield  hundreds  of  different  kinds.  Perhaps,  if  you  experi- 
ment carefully,  you  may  succeed  in  grafting  a  branch.  Graft- 
ing is  generally  used  for  apples  and  pears,  but  budding  is  preferred 
for  plums  and  peaches. 

Orchard  Location.  — The  location  of  an  orchard  is  a  matter  of 
importance.  It  is  not  planted  for  one  season  or  one  crop,  but  for 
ten  or  twenty  or  more.  It  is  usually  desirable  to  have  an  orchard, 
especially  a  small  one,  near  the  dwelling  house.    Orchards  on 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS 


171 


elevated  rolling  land  are  less  apt  to  be  injured  by  frost  than  those 
on  lowlands  where  air  does  not  circulate  so  freely.  Most  fruit 
trees  prefer  a  fairly  fertile  clay  loam.    Orchards,  like  other  crops, 


The  Course  of  Success  through  Five  Years 

This  free  is  properly  planted,  properly  pruned,  and  cultivated ;  it  grows  fast  and  yields 

early  and  well, 

do  not  thrive  and  give  good  results  on  poor  soil.    The  land  must 
be  well  drained,  either  naturally  or  artificially. 

Selection  of  Varieties.  —  Varieties  should  be  selected  which  are 
adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate  and  to  the  purpose  in  view.  Some 
varieties  are  good  in  one  section  and  poor  in  another.  An  instance 
of  this  is  the  Albemarle  or  Newto,wn  pippin.  It  is  the  finest  and 
best-flavored  of  apples  when  grown  in  a  limited  section  of  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  and  California;  out  of  this  section  it  is  an  ordinary 
and  rather  insipid  fruit. 


172  AGRICULTURE 

A  small  orchard  for  home  use  should  have  varieties  which  give 
a,  succession  of  fruit  throughout  the  season.  The  varieties  in  a 
market  orchard  should  be  the  most  salable  ones  adapted  to  the 
section.  Near  a  good  market,  summer  and  fall  fruits  are  often 
profitable.  At  a  distance  from  market,  varieties  that  keep  well 
and  bear  handling  and  storage  should  be  raised. 

Transplanting  Trees.  —  Young  fruit  trees  can  be  set, out  in  fall 
or  spring;  spring  planting  is  usually  preferred.  On  page  63  there 
are  general  suggestions  for  transplanting,  but  there  are  some  special 
points  which  should  be  regarded  in  the  case  of  trees.  A  portion 
of  the  soil  should  be  dug  away,  and  the  roots  should  be  loosened 
and  carefully  withdrawn.  Bruised  and  broken  roots  should  be 
trimmed  off.  In  resetting  it,  the  subsoil  should  be  loosened  at  the 
bottom  of  the  hole,  and  a  httle  fine  soil  put  in.  Then  the  tree 
should  be  set  with  its  largest  root  in  the  direction  of  the  prevailing 
wind. 

Orchard  Cultivation.  —  After  the  young  orchard  is  set,  it  should 
be  cultivated.  No  farmer  expects  to  make  a  crop  of  corn  or  tobacco 
without  care  and  tillage.  Without  care  and  tillage,  it  is  just  as 
impossible  to  raise  good  orchard  crops.  It  is  money  and  time 
wasted  to  buy  and  transplant  trees  and  then  neglect  them. 

The  orchard  should  not  be  used  as  a  grain  field  nor  a  pasture, 
rhis  does  not  mean  that  crops,  often  profitable  ones,  cannot  be 
raised  in  an  orchard.  But  the  trees  must  be  the  first  consideration. 
Stock,  especially  cattle,  should  never  be  kept  in  a  young  orchard, 
as  they  injure  and  often  kill  the  trees.  Small  grain  should  never 
be  grown  in  it;  grain  and  trees  make  growth  and  require  much 
moisture  at  the  same  time,  and  the  trees  are  robbed  of  food  and 
moisture.  Clean  crops  which  destroy  humus  should  be  followed 
by  cover  or  catch  crops  cut  for  hay  or  plowed  under  in  the  early 
spring. 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS  173 

Care  should  be  taken  that  neither  teams  nor  tools  break  or  scar 
the  trees,  and  that  the  plow  does  not  go  close  and  deep  enough  to 
break  their  roots.  After  a  few  years  the  orchard  may  be  '  put 
down  '  in    grass,    such  as  blue    grass  or  orchard    grass,  though 


Spraying  Fruit  Trees 

a  compact  sod  should  not  be  allowed  to  form  around  the 
trees. 

Fertilizers.  — The  best  fertilizers  for  fruits  are  those  containing 
potash  which  improves  the  quality  of  the  fruit.  There  is  no  better 
fertilizer  than  wood  ashes. 

Spraying.  —  Trees  sometimes  need  medicine  as  well  as  food. 
Fungous  diseases  and  insects  often  attack  fruit  trees  and,  if  un- 
checked, cause  death.  Some  of  these  diseases  are  very  contagious 
and  widespread.    It  requires  care  and  watchfulness  to  keep  them 


174 


AGRICULTURE 


in  check.     In  the  chapter  on  Crop  Enemies  you  are  told  about  some 
of  these  pests  and  the  best  methods  of  controlling  them. 

It  is  as  important  to  destroy  these  enemies  when  there  is  no 
crop  as  when  there  is  a  heavy  one.  They  injure  the  trees  and  lessen 
future  crops.  Fruit  buds  are  formed  one  season  for  the  next,  and 
the  tree  needs  to  be  in  a  healthy,  vigorous  condition  to  store  up 
material  and  to  provide  for  the  next  crop. 

Thinning. — Where  there  is  a  heavy 
crop,  it  is  well  to  thin  it  by  removing 
some  of  the  fruit  while  small.  If  all 
be  left,  it  is  likely  to  split  or  break 
the  trees.  Moreover,  the  trees  are  often 
so  exhausted  by  fruiting  a  large  crop 
one  year  that  they  form  few  fruit  buds, 
and  the  next  season  yield  little  or  noth- 
ing. A  moderate  crop  every  year  is 
better  for  the  trees  and  better  for  the 
farmer. 

Pruning.  —  Experience  has  shown 
that  there  are  better  results  where  tree 
growth  is  trained.  Hence,  training  or 
pruning  has  become  an  important  part 
of  orchard  work. 
The  orchardist  should  decide  what 


Pruning 


The  top  branch  on  the  left  is  prop- 
erly cut,  and  that  on  the  right  is  im- 
properly cut ;  observe  the  difference 

in  the  healing  of  the  two.   The  lower  ,             ,           •  i         i  •      .            ^      i                    j 

left-hand  branch  is  sawed  from  the  shapC  he  WlshcS  hlS   trCCS  tO  haVC    and 

top,  and  its  weight  causes  it  to  fall  prune  them  accordingly.     When  trees 

and  split  the  tree ;  this  is  prevented  i               ,         .            i                         i- 

in  .he  case  of  the  Hgh.-hand  branch  ^re  pruned  SO  as  to  give  a  low,  Spreading 

by  first  making  an   incision  in  the  grOWth,  they  Suffer  IcSS  from  wind  and 

lower  side.  £j.qj^  drought,  bccausc  the  low  branches 

keep  the   ground    moist.  It   is  less  troublesome   to  prune  and 
spray  them  and  to  gather  the  fruit. 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS  175 

Growth  should  be  directed  as  much  as  possible  by  rubbing  off 
buds  and  cutting  off  twigs  that  interlap  and  grow  toward  the 
center.  This  will  prevent  the  necessity  of  cutting  large  branches 
later,  will  keep  the  center  open  to  air  and  sunlight,  and  will  lighten 
the  labor  of  spraying  and  of  fruit-gathering.  Except  in  old,  neg- 
lected orchards,  severe  pruning  is  rarely  necessary.  When  a  large 
branch  is  cut,  a  clean,  close  cut  should  be  made  so  that  it  will 
heal  without  leaving  a  stump.  The  wound  should  be  painted  with 
white  lead  to  prevent  rotting. 

Pruning  in  winter  increases  the  yield  of  fruit,  in  summer  increases 
the  growth  of  wood.  The  worst  time  for  pruning  is  in  the  spring 
when  the  buds  begin  to  start.     Wounds  made  then  are  slow  to  heal. 

EXERCISE 

1.  You  will  find  it  interesting  to  try  to  bud  and  graft  some  fruit  trees. 
Unless  you  are  careful  about  every  detail,  your  buds  and  grafts  will  not 
live. 

2.  Transplant  and  raise  one  or  more  fruit  trees,  observing  the 
suggestions  on  pages  63  and  172. 

3.  Compare  the  blossoms  and  leaves  of  the  different  fruit  trees  of 
your  section. 

4.  Compare  ripe  fruits  in  order  to  see  what  forms  the  edible  portion. 
Take  two  apples  and  two  pears.  Cut  one  of  each  lengthwise  and  one 
crosswise.  The  edible  portion  is  the  thickened  lower  part  of  the  calyx 
and  the  enlarged  stem.  Take  some  stone  fruits  —  the  peach,  plum, 
and  cherry  —  and  examine  their  parts.  The  edible  portion  is  the  soft 
juicy  part  of  the  calyx  leaves.  The  seed  or  true  fruit  is  inclosed  in  the 
stone  in  the  center  of  what  we  call  the  fruit.  Can  you  think  of  any 
reason  why  these  seeds  are  not  edible  and  the  seed  covering  is? 

5.  Prune  a  tree  by  cutting  off  two  small  branches  that  interlap  or 
grow  toward  the  center.  Cut  one  branch  close  to  the  tree  trunk,  and 
leave  the  other  two  or  three  inches  long.  What  difference  is  there  in 
the  way  that  they  heal? 


176 


AGRICULTURE 


THE  VEGETABLE  GARDEN 


Value  of  Farm  Garden. — The  farm  garden  should  always  be 
one  of  the  first  considerations.  It  provides  for  the  table,  and  per- 
haps for  market  also,  the  vegetables  and  small  fruits  which  those 
who  live  in  cities  have  to  obtain  at  much  greater  expense  from  the 
market  and  green  grocery. 

The  garden  should  be  plowed  ajid  planted  at  the  proper  time, 

and  tilled   so  as   to  produce  the  best 
results.     -It  should  furnish  a  succession 
of    seasonable     vegetables,    supplying 
Hand  weeder  wholesome    and    palatable    food.     In 

no  other  way  can  the  same  outlay  of  time,  labor,  and  money 
give  greater  returns. 

Location  and  Cultivation.  —  The  garden  should  be  convenient 
to  the  house.  It  is  better  to  have  the  beds  long  and  narrow,  rather 
than  short  and  broad;  thus  more  work  can  be  done  by  horse  and 
by  wheel  tools.  By  frequent  cultivation  under  proper  conditions, 
its  soil  should  be  made  a  fine  deep  seed-bed.  It  should  be  thor- 
oughly fertilized.  For  most  vegetables  the  soil  cannot  be  too  rich; 
usually,  the  more  rapid  their  growth,  the  better  their  texture  and 
flavor. 

No  untilled  corners  nor  hedgerows  should  be  left  in  a  garden  to 
shelter  and  breed  weeds  and  insect 
pests.  Nor  should  the  soil  be  left  idle 
to  waste  plant  food,  grow  up  in  weeds, 
and  infest  the  land  with  weed  seeds. 
As  soon  as  early  vegetables  are  gath- 
ered, their  rows  or  plots  should  be  planted  in  late  ones  or 
seeded  in  some  crop,  such  as  clover  or  rye,  to  turn  under  in  the 
spring. 


Weeding  or  Thinning  Hook 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS  177 

In  the  garden,  as  in  the  field,  rotation  of  crops  should  be  prac- 
ticed. Diseases  are  increased  and  insect  pests  harbored  by  having 
the  same  crop  in  the  same  place  year  after  year. 

Truck  Farming. — Truck  farming,  or  market  gardening,  is  an 
important  and,  in  many  localities,  a  profitable  branch  of  farming. 
Earliness  and  productiveness  are  the  quahties  most  sought  for  its 
products.  The  soil  must  be  a  hght,  warm  one  that  will  produce 
early  crops;  by  liberal  Use  of  stable  manure  and  commercial 
fertilizers,  it  can  be  made  productive. 

The  great  niarket  garden  of  the  United  States  is  a  narrow  strip 
extending  fifteen  hundred  miles  along  the  Atlantic  Coast.  This 
coast  region  is  free  from  late  frosts  in  spring  and  early  ones  in  fall. 
The  soil  is  light,  warm,  and  sandy ;  it  is  made  very  fertile  with  ma- 
nures and  fertilizers.     There  is  a  similar  soil  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Surplus  Products.  — There  is  a  frequent  and  direct  loss  of  truck 
products  through  inability  to  market  them  promptly  and  profitably. 
The  farmer  may  be  unable  to  secure  transportation  or  his  products 
may  come  in  when  the  market  is  glutted.  There  are  always  some 
unsalable  inferior  fruits  and  vegetables.  Sometimes  the  year's 
balance  is  changed  from  loss  to  profit  by  putting  these  surplus 
products  into  salable  forms  instead  of  leaving  them  to  rot  in  the 
field. 

In  canneries  many  perishable  products  may  be  put  in  shape  to 
be  stored  and  held  for  market.  Fruit  may  be  dried,  or  evaporated, 
—  that  is,  dried  by  artificial  heat  —  or  the  juice  may  be  extracted 
and  sold  as  cider  or  vinegar.  Surplus  fruit,  melons,  and  vegetables 
may  be  utihzed  by  feeding  them  to  stock. 

Root  Crops.  —  Root  crops  make  their  growth  underground. 
Some  of  these,  such  as  the  sweet  potato,  are  enlarged  fibrous  roots; 
some,  such  as  the  turnip,  are  enlarged  taproots;  others,  such  as  the 
white  potato,  are  not  roots,  but  tubers,  or  enlarged  underground 


178 


AGRICULTURE 


stems;  bulbs,  such  as  the  onion,  are  thickened  underground  leaves. 

All  these  crops  need  a  mellow,  fertile  soil  that  can  be  pushed  aside 

by  the  growing  root,  tuber,  or 
bulb,  and  that  supplies  food  ele- 
ments fully  and  freely. 

Where  the  soil  is  not  natu- 
rally loose  and  porous,  it  should 
be  plowed  deep  and  made  fine 
and  mellow.  On  heavy  soils 
ridge  cultivation  may  be  better; 
on  light  soils  level  cultivation 
lessens  the  evils  of  drought  and 
promotes  the  use  of  cultivating 
tools.  The  crops  for  winter 
keeping  should  be  harvested  in 
dry  weather.  They  should  be 
kept  in  a  cool,  dark,  well- 
drained,  well-ventilated  place. 

Turnips,  ru'ta-ba'gas,  man'gel- 
wur'zels,  sugar  beets,  and  carrots 

are  raised  in  some  sections  as  field  crops  for  stock  feed  in  winter. 

They  are  often  sowed  on  wheat  or  oat  stubble.     English  farmers 

say  that  their  breeds  of  cattle  and  sheep  have  greatly  improved 

since  root  crops  are  raised  and  fed.    These  crops  are  being  more 

and  more  largely  grown  in  the  United  States. 

Potatoes.  —  Potatoes,  sweet  and  white,  are  the  vegetables-  most 

widely  raised  for  table  use.    Sweet  potatoes  require  a  long  growing 

season  and  so  thrive  best  in   the   South;   they  prefer  a   porous, 

sandy  soil. 
The  white  potato  is  raised  in  all  sections  of  the  United  States. 

It  is  a  greedy  feeder,  and  thrives  best  in  a  fertile,  deep,  well-drained 


Potato  plant,  showing  root  s\  stem  and 
growth  of  tubers. 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS 


179 


loam.  Seed  should  be  selected  from  plants  bearing  a  large  number 
of  good-sized,  well-shaped  potatoes. 

Onions.  — Millions  of  bushels  of  onions  are  imported  to  the 
United  States  every  year;  they 
might  be  raised  at  home,  put- 
ting millions  of  dollars  into  the 
pockets  of  American  farm- 
ers. Onions  are  grown  from 
seeds  or  from  sets.  Cheaper, 
better,  and  earlier  onions  are 
grown  by  raising  plants  from 
seeds  in  seed  beds  or  hotbeds 
and  transplanting  them. 

Tomato. — The  tomato  has 
a  trailing  stem  and  needs  to 
be  trained  to  a  trellis  or  stake. 
Sometimes  the  branches  are 
pinched  off  and  the  main 
stem  is  tied  to  a  support  and 
has  its  bud  pinched  off  at  a 
height  of  about  four  feet. 
Thus  trained,  it  gives  better 
results  in  hot,  dry  weather, 
and  yields  several  clusters  of 
large,  perfect  fruit. 

Celery.  —  Celery  is  a  popu- 
lar vegetable,  and  is  not  diffi- 
cult    to    grow,    though     most     tomato  plant  trained  to  three  stems 

home  gardeners  suppose  that  it  is.  The  plants  are  grown  from 
seed  in  a  hotbed  and  then  transplanted  to  a  fertile  spot.  They 
must  be  well  watered  and  well  cultivated.     Instead  of  heaping  up 


i8o 


AGRICULTURE 


Asparagus  Plant 


a  bank  of  earth  to  blanch,  or  whiten,  celery,  a  board  can  be  set  on 
each  side  of  the  row  so  as  to  keep  out  the  sunlight. 

Asparagus. — Asparagus  is  another  pop- 
ular but  little  raised  vegetable.  Beds  once 
established  last  a  long  time.  Asparagus 
should  not  be  cut  until  the  plants  have 
been  three  years  set. 

Legixmes. — Peas,  string  beans,  or  snaps, 
and  the  shell  beans,  lima,  navy,  and  but- 
ter beans,  are  legumes.  These  require  a 
fairly  fertile  soil;  if  they  are  given  other 
plant  food,  the  summer-growing  ones  get 
their  nitrogen  from  the  air. 

Melon  Family.  —  To  the  melon  family 
belong  muskmelon,  watermelon,  cucum- 
ber, squash  or  cymling,  and  pumpkin.  Different  as  these  seem, 
they  are  alike  in  many  ways.  Most  of  them  are  tropical  or  sub- 
tropical plants  and  very  tender;  they  must  not  be  planted  until 
danger  of  frost  is  over  and  the  ground  is  warm.  They  need 
light,  mellow,  well-drained  soil.  If  planted  near  one  another, 
members  of  this  family  mix.  They  all  have  some  very  trouble- 
some insect  enemies,  beetles  and  bugs. 

Sweet  Corn.  —  Sweet  corn  requires  the  same  cultivation  and 
care  as  does  field  corn,  which  has  been  described.  It  should  never 
be  near  enough  to  mix  with  the  field  varieties. 

Okra,  Cabbage.  — Okra  is  grown  in  hot,  dry  sections,  but  does 
not  thrive  in  cool,  moist  ones;  cabbage,  on  the  other  hand,  heads 
better  in  a  cool  cHmate. 

Herbs.  —  In  every  country  garden  there  should  be  an  herb  bed 
for  seasoning  and  flavors.  Here  should  grow  such  herbs  as  sage, 
lavender,    spearmint,    thyme,    mar'jo  ram,    and   sa'vo  ry.     Sweet 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS  i8l 

herbs  give  best  results  in  a  moderately  fertile  place;  on  very  rich 
soil,  the  oil  supply  is  small.  In  order  to  develop  their  oil,  herbs 
need  a  sunny  exposure. 

Small  Fruits. — Nor  is  the  country  garden  complete  without  some 
berries,  bush  fruits,  and  grapevines.    These  should  not  be  planted 


A  Field  of  Pumpkins 

along  fences  and  in  corners.    They  should  be  set  where  they  can 
be  well  cultivated.    They  need  air,  sunhght,  and  good  culture. 

Raspberries.  —  Raspberries  prefer  a  fertile,  rather  moist  loam. 
In  warm  climates  they  thrive  better  when  sheltered  from  the  midday 
and  afternoon  sun.  Canes  that  put  forth  one  spring  bear  fruit 
the  second  summer.  After  bearing  one  crop,  they  die  and  new  ones 
grow  from  the  roots.  The  old  canes  should  be  cut  in  fall  or  early 
spring.     Annual  prunings,  clean  cultivation,  and  an  occasional 


l82 


AGRICULTURE 


Strawberries  under  Grapevines 


mulch  of  coarse  manure  will  secure  the  best  results  of  which  a 
variety  is  capable. 

Blackberries.  —  Blackberries  require  practically  the  same  culti- 
vation as  raspberries.     The  cultivated  varieties  are  more  produc- 
tive than  the 
wild  ones. 

Strawber- 
ries. —  Straw- 
berries  are 
greedy  feeders 
and  it  is  im- 
possible to 
make  the  soil 
too    rich    for 

them.  Wood  ashes  is  an  excellent  fertihzer,  as  it  increases  both 
the  quantity  and  the  quahty  of  the  yield.  Berries  grown  on  a 
sandy  soil  are  firmer  and  better-colored  than  those  grown  on  clay 
soil. 

Among  the  best-bearing  varieties  are  those  that  have  imperfect, 
pistil-bearing  blossoms.  To  secure  a  good  yield,  these  must  be 
grown  near  plants  with  perfect  blossoms.  Usually  the  bed  is 
plowed  up  the  second  or  third  year  and  a  new  one  set. 

Bush  Fruits. — The  most  generally  cultivated  bush  fruits  are 
the  currant  and  gooseberry.  They  prefer  a  cool,  moist  soil; 
currants  especially  are  not  grown  successfully  in  the  South.  The 
Enghsh  gooseberries  are  large  and  well-flavored,  but  are  subject 
to  disease.  In  many  sections  native  varieties  of  gooseberries, 
plums,  and  grapes  grow  well,  while  foreign  varieties  do  not  thrive. 
Grapes.  —  Grapes  belong  to  the  vine  family.  Most  of  the  grapes 
raised  in  the  United  States,  such  as  the  Catawba  and  the  Concord, 
have  been  developed  from  native  wild  varieties.    The  wine  and 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,    AND   GARDEN   CROPS 


183 


table  grapes,  which  are  natives  of  Europe  and  Asia,  are  suc- 
cessfully raised  in  California  and  in  sections  of  the  South. 

Grapes  thrive  best  in 
warm,  fertile  soil,  with 
sunny  exposure.  They 
are  grown  from  cuttings 
and  layers.  The  vines 
are  trained  to  trellises  or 
stakes,  and  should  be 
well  pruned  during  the 
dormant  season.  It 
should  be  remembered 
that  "  fruit  forms  upon 
shoots  that  grow  this 
year  from  eyes  that  were 
formed  on  the  wood  that 
grew  last  year." 

After  the  harvest  is 
over,  grapevines  should 
not  be  neglected,  left  to 
be  choked  with  weeds 
and  injured  by  fungous 
growth.  They  need  to  be  kept  thrifty  and  vigorous  so  as  to  mature 
new  wood  and  develop  healthy  buds  for  next  season's  growth. 


Courtesy  of  New  Mexico  Agricultural  Statit 

Grapes 


EXERCISE 

1.  Raise  on  well-prepared,  well-cultivated  plots  the  vegetables  which 
succeed  best  in  your  locality.  Select  good  varieties  and  try  to  improve 
them.     How  can  you  do  this  ? 

2.  Compare  the  parts  of  different  plants  which  make  their  growth 
underground,  —  such  as  a  sweet  potato,  a  turnip,  a  white  potato,  and 
an  onion. 


1 84 


AGRICULTURE 


3.  Grow  some  beets  in  mellow,  well-drained  soil,  and  some  of  the 
same  variety  in  a  "iiard,  cloddy  clay.  Is  there  any  difference  in  their 
appearance  ? 

4.  Leave  where  they  grew  the  stalks  of  some  corn  and  the  tops 
of  some  white  potatoes.  In  three  or  four  weeks  compare  what  is  left  of 
them.  What  has  become  of  the  potato  tops?  Can  you  think  of  any 
reason  for  this? 

5.  Why  do  you  plant  beans  and  peas  shallower  than  corn  ?  Can  you 
explain  why  the  young  peas  and  beans  grow  so  much  more  rapidly 
than  tomatoes  and  onions  started  from  seed? 

6*.  Some  of  our  common  vegetables,  such  as  cabbage,  tomato,  and 
sweet  potato,  are  of  tropical  origin.  To  give  them  a  longer  growing 
season,  start  these  plants  in  seed  beds,  or  hotbeds  which  have  a  layer  of 
manure  under  the  soil,  and  transplant  them  to  the  garden. 

7.  You  will  enjoy  raising  some  berries  and  grapevines  for  yourself. 
They  are  not  much  trouble,  and  give  large  returns  in  luscious  fruit. 


THE   FLOWER  GARDEN 


Flowers.  — 
We  are  not 
satisfied  with 
merely  useful 
things.  We 
desire  beauti- 
ful ones.  It  is 
not  enough 
for  us  that  our 
earth  brings 
forth  corn  and 
potatoes.    We 

want,  we  need,  flowers,  beautiful  of  color,  graceful  of  form,  fra- 
grant of  scent.  Around  and  in  the  house  they  are  a  constant 
source  of  pleasure. 


^^^m;)^^}iK'J/:.^^  ^ 


A  Vine-clad  Porch 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS 


185 


Selection. — Our  cultivated  flowers,  like  our  agricultural  plants, 
have  been  produced  from  wild  ones.  They  have  been  selected 
for  beauty  as  the  vegetables  have  been  chosen  for  use.  In  many 
cases  our  flowers  and  crop  plants  are  very  closely  related.  The 
hollyhock  is  near  kin  to  the  cotton.  Its  large,  many-colored,  double 
flowers  are  the  result  of  long-continued  selection  and  reselection. 


Coiirti'sy  of  Messrs.  Burpee  Si-  Co. 

Crimson  California  Poppies 

The  Crimson  California  Poppy.  —  An  instance  will  show  you 
how  this  is  done.  Mr.  Luther  Burbank,  who  has  been  mentioned 
before,  is  a  flower  lover  as  well  as  a  skillful  breeder  of  useful  plants. 
One  day  he  was  looking  at  a  field  of  CaHfornia  poppies,  yellow  in 
the  sunhght.  His  quick  eye  detected  one  blossom  that  had  '  a 
thread  of  crimson  on  the  inside  of  one  of  the  petals.'  He  saved 
and  planted  the  seed  of  the  crimson-streaked  poppy.     It  produced 


1 86 


AGRICULTURE 


yellow  poppies  some  of  which  were  marked  with  red.  Seed  was 
saved  from  those  showing  most  red.  In  nine  years,  by  this  con- 
tinued careful  selection,  a 
brilliant  crimson  poppy  was 
produced,  like  its  yellow  an- 
cestor in  all  respects  except 
color. 

Annuals.  —  Hardy  annuals, 
such  as  alys'sum,  nastur'- 
tium,  morning-glory,  California 
poppy,  pansy,  poppy,  phlox, 
sweet  pea,  and  zin'ni  a,  can  be 
sown  in  the  open  ground  in 
May  or  earlier.  The  semi- 
hardy  and  tender  annuals,  such 
as  por  tu  la'ca,  require  more 
warmth  for  their  germination 
and    growth.    The    seed    of 


Courtesy  of  New  Mexico  Agricultui-al  Station 

Gaillardias 


these  should  not   be  planted  until  the 
ground  is  warm. 

Some  annuals,  such  as  the  pansy, 
thrive  in  shady  places,  but  most  of  them 
prefer  full  sunlight.  They  need  deep, 
fertile,  mellow  soil. 

Seed  Beds.  —Most  annuals  thrive  better  if  raised 
in  seed  beds  and  transplanted.  A  good  seed  bed  is 
a  shallow  box  with  its  bottom  open  enough  to  secure 
good  drainage.  It  should  be  filled  with  fine,  rich, 
well-packed  sandy  loam,  kept  moist  and  warm. 
Most  flower  seeds  are  small,  and  care  must  be  taken 
not  to  cover  them  deep ;  if  this  be  done,  they  will  not  germinate. 


Carnation 
Pinks 


FIELD,   ORCHARD,   AND   GARDEN   CROPS  187 

Nor  must  the  seed  bed  be  watered  so  freely  as  to  form  a  crust  or 
rot  the  seeds. 

Flowering  Plants.  — Many  of  our  flowering  plants  are  biennials, 
and  perennials.  Among  these  are  the  peony,  hollyhock,  ver  be'na, 
chrys  an'the  mum,  clem'a  tis,  honeysuckle,  and  rose.  Some  of 
these  are  raised  from  seeds,  but  most  are  grown  from  cuttings  of 
roots  or  stems  or  from  division  of  roots. 

Among  the  most  popular  perennials  are  some  tubers  and  bulbs. 
Like  agricultural  root  crops,  flowering  ones  need  deep,  fertile,  well- 
drained  soil.  Among  the  spring  blossoming  bulbous  plants  are 
the  odorous  hy'a  ^inth,  the  brilhant  tu'lip,  the  fragrant  and  bright- 
colored  nar  cis'sus,  daf'  fo  dil,  and  jon'quil,  the  graceful  snowdrop, 
and  the  sweet-scented  lily  of  the  valley.  Later  in  the  season 
bloom  the  beautiful  Hlies  and  the  showy  gla  di'o  li  and  dah'lias. 

Roses.  —  Of  all  flowers,  perhaps  the  general  favorite  is  the  rose, 
to  which  has  been  applied   the  title  of    '  queen  of   flowers.'     It 


Roses 

has  for  its  own  the  entire  blooming  season  of  the  year.  It  has  all 
charms,  —  fragrance,  grace,  beauty,  and  variety  of  color.  Roses 
need  sunshine  and  a  deep,  fertile,  well-drained  soil.  Hardy 
varieties  will  endure  a  good  deal  of  neglect,  but  no  flower  better 
repays  intelligent  care. 

Success  in  raising  Flowers.  —  If  you  wish  to  succeed  in  raising 
flowers,  you  must  study  the  nature  and  the  needs  of  the  varieties 


1 88  AGRICULTURE 

jou  wish  to  grow.  Their  preferences  as  to  soil,  moisture,  and 
sunlight  must  be  regarded.  They  must  have  careful  cultivation, 
the  soil  being  kept  stirred  on  the  surface,  but  not  so  deep  as  to 
interfere  with  their  roots. 


A  Group  of  Water  Lilies 

Many  flowers,  such  as  sweet  peas,  have  their  blossoming  season 
prolonged  by  keeping  the  blossoms  picked  so  as  to  prevent  the 
maturing  of  seed. 

A  few  plants  well  cared  for  give  far  better  results  than  a  large 
number  poorly  tended  or  neglected. 

EXERCISE 

1.  Set  aside  a  part  of  your  garden  plot  for  flowers.  Plant  some  hardy 
annuals,  such  as  phlox  and  nasturtium. 

2.  Compare  an  American  Beauty  or  other  cultivated  rose  with  the 
wild  rose,  or  sweetbrier. 


OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  FIVE 

CROP    ENEMIES    AND    FRIENDS 

^eeds: 

Some  annuals: 

Charlock,  chess,  corncockle,  dog  fennel,  pigeon  grass,  cocklebur, 

horse  weed,  wild  lettuce,  ragweed,  Russian  thistle 

Some  biennials: 

Bull  thistle,  burdock,  wild  carrot 

Some  perennials: 

Bind  weed,  Canada  thistle,  dandelion,  horse  nettle,  nut  grass, 

oxeye  daisy,  rib  grass,  sorrel,  wild  onion 

Destroyed  by 

Clean,  cultivated  crops 

Preventing  the  maturing  of  seed 

Smother  crops 

Fungous  Diseases: 

Some  characteristics  of  fungi : 

Feed  on  other  plants  and  animals 

Lack  chlorophyl  or  leaf  green 

Reproduce  by  spores  instead  of  seeds 

Some  fungous  diseases: 

Blight,  black  knot,  mildew,  mold,  rot,  rust,  scab,  smut,  wilt 

How  to  protect  crops: 

Destroy  fungi,  — 

On  soil,  by  burning  diseased  plants 

In  soil,  by  depriving  them  of  host  plants 

Plant  and  breed  resistant  varieties 

Store  fruit  and  grain  when  they  are  dry 

Remove  spores  from  infested  seed 

Destroy  spores  of  fungi  by 

Dust  spray  of  flowers  of  sulphur 

Liquid  spray  of  copper  sulphate,  lime,  and  water  (Bordeaux 

mixture) 

189 


IQO  AGRICULTURE 

Insect  Enemies: 

Characteristics  of  an  insect: 

Breathes  through  tubes  on  body 
Has  six  legs 

Body  is  in  three  parts,  —  head,  thorax,  and  abdomen 
Several  life  stages,  —  egg,  larva,  pupa,  imago,  or  egg,  nymph,  adult 
Some  chewing  insects  that  feed  on  plants : 

Canker  worm,  army  worm,  tent  caterpillar,  cabbage  and  tobacco 
worms,  cotton  boll  worm,  cutworm,  Colorado  potato  beetle 
Some  chewing  insects  that  feed  in  plants: 

Curculio,  borers,  Mexican  cotton  boll  weevil  * 

Some  sucking  insects: 

Aphides  or  plant  hce,  Hessian  fly,  chinch  bug,  scale 
Means  of  controlling: 
Cultural  methods,  — 

Tillage,  fertilizers,  trap  crops,  time  of  planting,  rotation  of  crops 
Poison,  — 
Arsenic  for  chewing  insects 

Contact  poisons,  such  as  Hme,  for  sucking  insects 
Insect  Friends: 

Ladybirds,   ground  and   tiger  beetles,   dragon  and  damsel  flies, 
ichneumon  and  tachina  flies 
Birds: 

Some  useful  ones: 

Swallows,    cuckoos,    woodpeckers,    sparrows,    wrens,    kingbird, 
mocking  bird,  partridge,  Baltimore  oriole,  bluebird 
Some  useful  ones  that  do  some  harm: 

Robin,  catbird,  boboHnk  or  rice  bird,  red-winged  blackbird,  crow 
Some  harmful  ones : 

Sharp-shinned   hawk.    Cooper's   hawk,   goshawk,    duck   hawk, 
English  sparrow 
How  to  have  bird  neighbors: 
Do  not  disturb  their  nests 
Put  nest  boxes  and  water  in  convenient  places 
Feed  birds  when  snow  is  on  the  ground 
Plant  mulberries  and  seed-bearing  shrubs  ' 


CHAPTER    FIVE 
CROP    ENEMIES    AND    FRIENDS 

WEEDS 

What  Weeds  Are.  —  Weeds  are  well  defined  as  '  plants  out  of 
place,'  those  that  persist  in  growing  where  they  are  not  wanted. 
Usually,  they  are  wild  plants.  Sometimes  they  are  cultivated  ones 
which  cannot  be  kept  in  bounds.  The  beautiful  Kentucky  blue 
grass  is  a  weed  when  it  grows  in  a  hayfield ;  it  is  not  tall  enough  for 
hay,  and  it  crowds  out  other  grasses  that  are. 

Weeds  are  not  altogether  useless  or  harmful;  they  shade  the 
land,  they  supply  humus,  and  they  remind  farmers  that  it  is  time 
to  till  their  crops.  Some  farmers  do  not  consider  the  benefits  of 
tillage,  and  think  it  is  necessary  to  cultivate  a  crop  only  often  enough 
to  keep  weeds  in  check. 

Agricultural  Plants.  —  Our  agricultural  plants  have  been  se- 
lected from  among  wild  plants  for  some  useful  quahty,  and  brought 
into  field,  orchard,  or  garden.  They  have  been  cared  for  so  long 
that  they  have,  to  a  great  extent,  lost  abihty  to  care  for  themselves. 
Most  of  their  vigor  is  spent  in  storing  up  the  products  for  which 
they  are  cukivated.  They  are  cotton-bearers,  grain-growers,  fruit- 
producers. 

Harm  done  by  Weeds.  —  Weeds,  on  the  other  hand,  are  used  to 
shifting  for  themselves,  and  are  generally  stronger  and  quicker- 
growing  than  agricultural  plants.  They  rob  crops  of  food,  mois- 
ture, and  light.    They  lessen  the  quantity,  and  often  injure  the 

191 


192 


AGRICULTURE 


quality  of  the  yield.     Wheat  is  damaged  by  cockle,  wool  is  injured 
by  burs,  the  flavor  of  milk  and  butter  is  affected  by  wild  onions. 

Water  hemlock  and  some  other  plants 
are  poisonous  to  man  and  beast. 

How  to  destroy  Weeds.  — The  good 
farmer  tries  to  destroy  weeds  while 
young,  before  they  injure  the  crop. 
They  are  then  easily  killed  by  shal- 
low hoeing  with  a  hand  or  horse  hoe 
or  a  cultivator  with  small  teeth.  If 
wTeds  are  cut  off  too  near  the  sur- 
face, their  roots  live  and  send  forth 
new  growth;  if  they  are  cut  off  too 
deep  down,  they  are  only  trans- 
planted and  grow  more  vigorously. 

Weed  Seed  Sowing.  —  But  how  do 
weeds  come 
in  the  fields 
where  they 
are  not 
planted? 
Ah !  that  is  a  matter  to  which  they  at- 
tend. The  farmer  is  fortunate  if  he  gets 
his  field  crops  sowed  as  thoroughly  as 
those  weeds.  In  the  first  place,  they 
usually  produce  an  enormous  number  of 
seeds.  A  single  plant  will  sometimes  ma- 
ture a  hundred  thousand  seeds  one  season. 
To  spread  these  abroad,  weeds  make 
use  of  many  messengers, — wind,  water,  birds,  beasts,  —  yes,  and 
people,  too.    Every  time  you  pull  off  one  of  the  hooked  burs  which 


COCKLEBUR 


Broom  Sedge 
Seed  carried  by  wind 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND   FRIENDS 


193 


has  caught  fast  in  ypur  clothing,  and  throw  it  down  on  the 
ground,  you  are  carrying  out  the  cocklebur's  plan  of  seed  sowing. 
If  you  do  not  wish  to  reap  burs,  do  not  sow  them;  burn  them 
instead. 

Weed  Travelers.  —  Weeds  are  such  great  travelers  that  they  are 
called  the  '  tramps  of  the  vegetable  world.'  They  do  not  travel 
only  in  slow, .  old-fashioned  ways,  helped  by  wind  and  wave  and 
animal.  They  travel  with  all  the  conveniences  of  the  age,  —  by 
rail  and  boat.  Their  seeds  are  often  carried  from  one  country  to 
another  in  hides,  in  fleeces,  in  hay,  and  mixed  in  other  seed,  such 
as  grass  or  grain. 

Native  and  Foreign  Weeds.  —  F  ew  of  our  native  weeds  are  trouble- 
some in  the  crop  field.  They  have  been  used  to  contending  only 
with  other  native  plants,  and  have  not,  as  it  seems,  adapted  them- 
selves to  the  struggle  with  man  and  his  agricultural  tools.  They 
retire  to  the  forest  and  untilled  land. 

Our  most  troublesome  weeds  have  been  imported  from  Europe. 
For  centuries  they  have  been  struggling  for  existence  there,  and  they 
are  bold,  hardy,  and  persistent. 

Weedless  China. — There  is  one  country  almost  entirely  free 
from  weeds.  That  is  China.  It  is  an  old  country,  so  thickly 
peopled  and  so  occupied  with  crops  that  weeds  are  crowded  out. 
This  is  the  only  way  they  are  ever  destroyed,  —  by  careful  tillage 
and  by  occupying  all  the  land  with  crops. 

How  to  keep  Weeds  in  Check.  —  As  it  will  probably  be  several 
thousand  years  before  our  country  is  as  densely  populated  as  China, 
American  farmers  must  work  to  keep  weeds  in  check.  They  can 
do  so  by  good  tillage,  rotation  of  crops,  occupying  the  land  with 
crops,  protecting  the  insect  and  bird  enemies  of  weeds,  and  destroy- 
ing troublesome  weeds. 

A  farmer  who  does  not  fight  weeds  bo'th  out  and  in  his  crops  is 


194  AGRICULTURE 

apt  to  have  an  infested  farm.  He  lets  the  daisies  go  to  seed  in  his 
pasture  and  they  take  possession  of  it.  He  leaves  the  thistle  in  the 
fence  comer,  the  cocklebur  and  burdock  by  the  brook,  and  they 
sow  thousands  of  seeds.  Perhaps  he  does  not  practice  rotation  of 
crops;  certain  weeds  take  advantage  of  the  habits  of  certain  agri- 
cultural plants,  and  become  established  with  them.  He  leaves 
land  out  to  'rest,'  and  a  weed  crop  grows  on  the  grain  stubble. 
A  'resting'  field  is  a  weed  nursery  which  raises  hosts  to  occupy 
that  and  other  fields  next  year.  When  the  farmer  plows  under 
their  ripened  seeds,  he  plants  a  crop  as  surely  as  when  he  plows 
under  wheat  or  oats.  The  production  of  a  crop  of  weeds  is  as 
great  a  tax  on  soil  fertility  as  an  agricultural  crop,  such  as  cowpeas, 
which  benefits  the  farm  and  the  farmer. 

Knowledge  Needed. — The  farmer  must  understand  the  nature 
and  habits  of  his  crop  plants  in  order  to  grow  them  successfully. 
He  must  understand  those  of  weeds  if  he  is  to  carry  on  successful 
war  against  them. 

Annuals. — There  are  many  troublesome  annuals.  As  a  rule, 
they  are  not  so  persistent  of  growth  nor  so  deep  of  root  as  longer- 
lived  plants,  and  thus  are  easier  to  destroy.  They  usually  produce 
seed  very  freely.  Among  annual  weeds  are  charlock,  chess,  corn 
cockle,  dog  fennel,  pigeon  grass,  bur  grass,  cocklebur,  horse  weed, 
wild  lettuce,  ragweed,  and  Russian  thistle. 

Ragweed.  — The  ragweed  is  one  of  our  few  troublesome  native 
annuals.  It  has  many  local  names,  —  bitterweed,  hogweed,  little 
ragweed,  rich  weed,  Roman  wormwood;  its  botanical  name  is 
Am  hro'si  a  ar  te  mVsi  ae  jo  li  a.  As  plants  have  so  many  local 
names,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  learn  the  botanical  name,  which  is  the 
same  everywhere.  Ragweed  is  found  in  almost  all  states  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  branches  freely  and  its  leaves  are  much 
divided.    The  greenish  stamen-bearing  and  pistil-bearing  flowers 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND   FRIENDS 


195 


are  borne  in  different  places  on  the  same  plant 
vated    fields,    and    often 
grows   as    thick    in    grain 
stubble  as  if  it  had  been 
sowed  there. 

Ragweed  can  be  de- 
stroyed by  late  cultivation 
in  hoed  crops,  and  by 
plowing  grain  land  and 
sowing  on  it  such  crops  as 
cowpeas  or  clover.  Stray 
ragweed  plants  along 
fences  and  streams  should 
be  cut  down  before  they 
scatter  abroad  their  hosts 
of  seeds. 

How  to  destroy  Annuals. 
— Most  annuals  are  easily 
destroyed  by  clean  culti- 
vation of  crops,  especially 
by  late  cultivation.  As 
far  as  possible,  seeding 
should  be  prevented.  The 
plants  should  be  mowed 
before  they  flower,  or 
burned    before    the    seed 


It  infests  culti- 


mature. 

Biennials. — Among  our 
most  troublesome  biennial 
wTeds  are  the  bull  or  pas-  ^""^^^ 

ture    thistle,    burdock   or   great  dock,    and  wild  carrot.     None 


Four  Common  Weeds 
a,  amaranth  ;  b,  crab  grass ;  c,  ragweed ;  d,  pigeon 


196 


AGRICULTURE 


of  these  are  native  Americans;   all  have  been  brought  from  the 
Old  World. 

Wild  Carrot. — The  wild  carrot  {Dau'cus  caro'ta),  called  also 
bird's  nest,  devil's  plague,  or  Queen  Anne's  lace,  is  a  troublesome 

biennial,  the  original  of  our  garden 
carrot.  It  grows  from  New  England 
southward  to  Georgia  and  westward 
to  Ohio.  It  is  so  troublesome  in  some 
states  that  laws  have  been  passed 
against  letting  it  go  to  seed.  The  wild 
carrot  has  a  pretty  white  blossom  and 
graceful,  finely-cut  foliage.  It  thrives 
on  almost  any  soil  and  takes  posses- 
sion of  waste  places.  The  best  way  to 
destroy  it  is  to  pull  the  young  plants 
up  by  the  roots,  or  to  cut  them  before 
they  mature  seed. 

How  to  destroy  Biennials.  —  Bien- 
nials are  more  difficult  to  get  rid  of 
than  annuals.  When  young,  they  can 
be  destroyed  by  cutting  or  pulling 
them  up.  When  they  are  several 
months  eld,  they  can  be  removed  only 
by  deep  cutting  with  a  grubbing  hoe,  or  with  a  spud,  which  is 
a  sharp,  narrow  spade.  Any  plant  which  escapes  the  hoe  should 
be  cut  before  it  blooms.  Weeds,  especially  biennials  and  peren- 
nials, should  never  be  allowed  to  mature  seed. 

Perennials.  —  The    most    troublesome    of    all   weeds   are    the 

perennials.    Most  of  these  long-lived  plants  are  reproduced  both 

by  seeds  and  by  running  roots,  and  their  destruction  is  difficult. 

Among  perennial  weeds  are  the  bindweed  or  morning-glory. 


Wild  Carrot 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND   FRIENDS 


197 


Canada  thistle,  dandelion,  horse  nettle  or  sand  brier,  nut  grass, 
oxeye  or  white  daisy,  rib  grass  or  EngHsh  plantain,  sorrel  or  sour 
weed,  and  wild  onion  or  field  garhc.  Nearly  all  of  these  have  been 
imported  in  grass  or  grain  seed  from 
Europe.  Many  of  our  native  poisonous 
plants  are  perennials. 

Daisy. — The  white-and-yellow  daisy 
{Chry  sdn^the  mum  leu  cdn^the  mum)  is 
a  cousin  of  our  much-prized  chrysan- 
themum. It  has  a  pretty  flower,  but  is 
one  of  our  most  troublesome  perennial 
weeds.  Throughout  the  eastern  part 
of  the  United  States,  from  Maine  to 
North  Carolina,  farmers  regard  it  as  an 
enemy. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  destroy  in  culti- 
vated crops,  but  it  spreads  so  rapidly 
in  meadows  and  pastures  that  it  soon 
crowds  out  the  grasses.  It  can  be 
killed  by  hoed  crops,  or  checked  in  hay 
fields  by  mowing  early  before  it  ma- 
tures seed. 

Loco  Weed.  — The  woolly  loco  weed  and  the  stemless  loco  weed 
are  peculiar  poisonous  perennials  of  the  Great  Plains  region. 
They  are  found  both  on  the  prairies  and  on  the  foothills  and  moun- 
tain sides.  They  are  called  'crazy  weeds'  because  their  effect 
on  stock  is  like  that  of  alcohol  or  morphine  on  human  beings. 
Cattle,  sheep,  and  horses  that  eat  these  weeds  are  said  to  be  'lo- 
coed'; they  are  affected  with  mania,  refuse  all  other  food,  and 
finally  die.  Loco  causes  an  immense  loss  every  year  to  the  live- 
stock owners  of  the  West. 


Daisy 


198 


AGRICULTURE 


Stem  LESS  Loco  Weed 
One  third  natural  size 


How  to  destroy  Perennials.  —  Perennial 
weeds  have  to  be  fought  in  different  ways. 
Some  yield  to  clean  cultivation  of  crops. 
Others  are  so  persistent  in  clean  crops  that 
they  are  more  easily  destroyed  by  a  '  smother ' 
crop,  —  a  sowed  crop  which  makes  rapid, 
dense  growth,  and  deprives  the  weeds  of 
light  and  air.  Cowpeas  and  other  quick- 
growing  legumes  are  excellent  for  this  pur- 
pose. 

EXERCISE 

1.  We  have  mentioned  here  only  a  few  of 
the  many  weeds  troublesome  to  farmers  in  the 
United  States.  Make  as  complete  a  collection 
as  you  can  of  the  weeds  of  your  locality.  Get 
the  whole  plant,  —  root,  stem,  branches,  and 
blossoms.     Collect  weed  seeds  also. 

2.  Write  an  account  of  the  most  troublesome 
weeds  with  which  you  are  familiar.  Are  they 
annuals,  biennials,  or  perennials  ?  How  do  their 
seeds  travel?  In  what  other  ways  are  they 
reproduced  ?  In  what  crops  are  they  especially 
troublesome?  What  are  the  best  and  most 
economical  ways  of  getting  rid  of  them? 


FUNGOUS   DISEASES 


Advantages  of  Commerce.  — The  railroad  and  the  steamship 
have  bound  together  all  parts  of  the  world.  People  are  fed  on 
fruit,  vegetables,  grain,  and  meat  produced  in  other  states,  other 
countries,  other  continents.  This  interchange  of  produce  is  in 
many  ways  a  great  advantage.     It  enlarges  markets,  it  lessens 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND   FRIENDS 


199 


suffering  from  crop  shortages  and  failures.  If  the  wheat  crop  of 
the  United  States  be  small,  the  surplus  of  Russia  furnishes  us 
bread.  If  America  has  a  bountiful  crop,  it  goes  to  supply  food  for 
Europe. 

Disadvantages.  —  But  this  intercourse  has  its  disadvantages. 
As  you  learned,  many  troublesome  Old  World  weeds  have  been 
brought  to  us  in  one  way  and  another.  Other  and  more  deadly 
crop  enemies  have  been  imported.  Diseases  and  insects,  once 
confined  to  localities,  have  spread  over  the  world. 

Fungous  Diseases.  —  Old  farmers  remember  when  fungous 
diseases  of  crops  were  almost  or  entirely  unknown.  Fruit  ripened, 
vegetables  grew,  grain  matured,  without  any  serious  injury. 
Now  there  is  hardly  a  farmer  who  does  not  lose  by  these  diseases 
every  year.  Usually,  he  loses  heavily  unless  he  uses  preventive 
measures. 

Fungi.  —  A  fungous  disease  is  one  caused  by  fungi,  —  plants 
which  live  on  other  plants  or  animals  and  take  nourishment  from 
them.  One  such  plant  is  called  a  fun'gus.  Some 
fungi,  such  as  mushrooms,  are  large ;  others,  such 
as  blight,  are  very  small,  so  small  that  they  are 
invisible  to  the  naked  eye.  Some,  such  as  the 
yeasts,  are  useful;  others,  such  as  the  smuts,  are 
harmful.  Some  cause  deadly  diseases;  without 
others,  man  would  die,  because  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  raise  any  food  crop. 

Three  well-known  classes  of  fungi  are  mold, 
yeast,  and  bacteria. 

Fungi  are  the  lowest  forms  of  living  things. 
They  lack  the  chlorophyl  by  means  of  which,  as 
you  have  learned,  higher  plants  feed 'on  the  elements  of  the  air. 
Instead  of  being  green,  they  are  usually  white,  pink,  yellow,  blue, 


^i^=>J. 


Mold 


Greatly  magnified 


200  AGRICULTURE 

or  brown.  Instead  of  seeds,  they  produce  spores,  minute  bodies 
which  bud  or  break  off  from  the  fungi.  These  reproduce  with 
wonderful  rapidity.  One  plant  may  produce  several  millions 
within  twenty-four  hours.  Spores  are  so  small  and  light  that 
they  are  borne  far. and  wide  in  the  air. 

Some  fungi  perish  under  unfavorable  conditions.  Others  es- 
tablish a  colony  on  a  host,  as  the  plant  or  animal  on  which  they 
fasten  themselves  is  called.  A  very  unwilling  host  it  is,  we  may 
be  sure,  which  is  deprived  by  its  guest  of  tissue  or  juices  or  even  of 
life.  The  fungi  penetrate  the  cell  walls  of  their  host,  devour  the 
protoplasm  which,  as  you  have  learned,  is  the  living  principle; 
they  destroy  cell  after  cell,  and  weaken  or  kill  the  host  plant. 

Bacteria  are  so  small  that  they  have  to  be  magnified  before  we 
can  perceive  them  at.  all.  Under  the  microscope,  they  are  seen 
to  have  one  of  three  forms ;  they  are  '  shaped  like  balls,  pencils, 
or  corkscrews.' 

You  have  learned  that  some  bacteria  help  the  farmer  by  chang- 
ing nitrogen  into  forms  which  plants  can  use,  and  others  harm  him 
by  consuming  soil  nitrogen.  There  are  other  fungi  which  harm 
him  by  feeding  on  his  crop  plants,  producing  such  diseases  as 
rot,  rust,  smut,  mildew,  blight,  scab,  and  wilt. 

It  is  important  for  the  farmer  to  learn  something  about  fungi. 
He  is  then  better  able  to  get  the  aid  of  the  helpful  ones  and  to 
check  the -ravages  of  the  harmful  ones. 

Fire  Blight.  —  The  bacteria  which  cause  fire  blight  of  fruit  trees 
are  carried  by  insects  at  blossoming  time.  Thus  they  spread  from 
tree  to  tree,  from  neighborhood  to  neighborhood.  The  bacteria, 
use  the  food  prepared  in  the  leaves  for  the  tree,  and  kill  leaves, 
twigs,  branches,  often  the  tree  itself.  The  disease  is  called  fire 
blight  because  the  leaves  affegted  look  as  if  they  had  been  scorched 
by  fire. 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND   FRIENDS 


201 


When  these  withered,  blackened  leaves  are  seen,  the  twig  bear- 
ing them  should  be  cut  off  some  distance  below  the  darkened  place 
which  shows  how  far  the  disease  extends.  These  twigs  should  be 
burned  in  order  to  destroy  the  bacteria.  The  knife  should  be  dis- 
infected after  each  cutting,  so  as  to  keep  from  infecting  healthy- 
wood. 


Courtesy  of  Connecticut  Agricultural  Station 

MusKMELON  Vine  'with  Blight 


Rust.  —  There  are  many  forms  of  rust  which  affect  different 
plants.  The  rust  of  the  apple  is  an  interesting  example  of  a  fungus 
which  has  two  hosts,  one  affording  it  a  summer  home,  the  other 
giving  it  winter  quarters. 

The  winter  home  of  the  fungus  is  the  red  cedar,  on  which  it 
forms  what  is  called  the  cedar  apple.  In  wet  spring  weather 
these  cedar  apples  are  covered  with  jelly-like  tissue,  which  is  a 


202 


AGRICULTURE 


mass  of  spores  that  are  cast  off  in  enormous  numbers.  They  float 
through  the  air  to  find  a  home  on  the  apple  foliage.  They  pene- 
trate the  tissue,  forming  orange-colored  spots  which  injure  and 

often  destroy  the  foliage.  On 
the  under  side  of  the  spots  are 
small  cup-shaped  bodies  which 
bear  the  spores.  Later,  these 
spores  float  back  and  infest 
the  leaves  of  the  cedar.  The 
fungus  cannot  Hve  if  deprived 
of  either  of  its  host  plants.  It 
is  most  easily  kept  in  check  in 
an  apple  orchard  that  has  no 
cedar  trees  near  it. 

Ret. —Most  kinds  of  fruit 
rot  are  very  contagious,  and 
sound  fruit  is  rapidly  infected 
by  diseased.  One  day  there 
may  be  only  two  or  three  de- 
caying peaches  on  a  tree;  a 
week  later  it  may  be  impos- 
sible to  find  a  sound  one. 

As  an  experiment,  a  knife 
blade  was  inserted  first  in  a 
speck  of  bitter  rot  on  an  apple  and  then  in  a  sound  apple,  which 
was  put  in  a  basket  of  healthy  fruit.  The  apples  were  attacked 
by  bitter  rot,  and  in  a  few  days  every  one  in  the  basket  was 
destroyed. 

Smut.  — There  are  different  kinds  of  smut  that  infest  cereals. 
The  smut  grows  with  and  on  the  plants.  Its  spores,  thousands 
and  thousands  together,  resemble  a  black  powder  in  the  heads  of 


Apples  infected  with  bitter  rot  from 
of  last  year's  fruit 


mummy 


Grapes  from  a  Vineyard  affected  with  Black  Rot 
The  upper  bunches  were  on  a  vine  that  was  sprayed  with  Bordeaux  mixture;    tlie  lower 
ones  were  on  an  unsprayed  vine. 


Cherry  with  Brown  Rot,  showing  the  Progress  of  the  Disease 


204 


AGRICULTURE 


grain,  such  as  wheat  or  oats.  When  the  grain  is  threshed,  these 
spores  adhere  to  the  grains  and  are  planted  with  them.  They 
develop  and  attack  the  young  plants.  The  farmer  does  not  wish 
to  raise  a  crop  of  smut  to  feed  upon  his  grain  and  lessen  its  yield. 
Therefore  he  should  kill  the  smut  spores  on  infected  grain  by  the 
use  of  for'ma  lin,  as  described  on  page  307  in  the  appendix. 

Wilt.  —  Wilt  is  a  disease  which  attacks  cotton,  flax,  tobacco, 
cowpeas,  and  other  crops.     It  is  caused  by  bacteria  in  the  soil. 


.^iJtM 

^^^^^^^^^!^^^^^^^^^3^^BKS^SEB^Bu^SK^S^^^SBIi 

3  ^g^g^'^ 

li-    %■: 

Courtesy  oi  North  Cinolioa  Expeiiment  Station 

Tobacco,  showing  Different  Stages  of  Wilt 


which  enter  the  plant,  probably  through  the  root  hairs,  and  spread 
up  into  the  stem.  There  they  grow,  and  choke  the  passages  so  that 
the  flow  of  sap  from  root  to  foliage  is  lessened  or  stopped.  As 
their  supply  of  water  is  evaporated,  the  leaves  wilt  and  wither. 
Later,  the  stem  blackens  and  rots.  Sometimes  only  a  few  plants 
in  a  field  are  affected,  sometimes  all  are  attacked.  Care  must 
be  taken  not  to  spread  the  disease  by  carrying  infested  plants  off 
the  field  where  they  grew.  They  should,  if  possible,  be  collected 
and  burned  there. 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND   FRIENDS  205 

As  the  fungi  persists  in  the  soil  often  as  long  as  eight  years,  the 
same  crop  should  not  be  planted  on  that  field  for  several  years. 
Instead,  there  should  be  planted  crops,  such  as  corn,  that  are  not 
subject  to  wilt  diseases.  Wilt-resistant  varieties  of  cowpeas, 
cotton,  flax,  and  other  plants  have  been  bred  by  selection,  but  rota- 
tion of  crops  should  never  be  neglected,  even  when  these  varieties 
are  used. 

Preventives  for  Fungous  Diseases.  — The  damage  of  fungous 
diseases  in  fields,  orchards,  and  gardens  amounts  every  }ear  to 
millions  of  dollars.  Is  there  no  way  to  prevent  this  loss?  Yes, 
there  are  remedies  for  most  of  these  diseases,  remedies  both  cheap 
and. effective.  The  farmer  should  know  and  use  them.  He  should 
bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  most  fungous  diseases  are  contagious, 
and  that  they  spread  by  means  of  spores  which  increase  very  rapidly. 
He  should  know  and  guard  against  the  various  host-plants  of  a 
fungus,  and  should  know  at  what  season  it  attacks  its  hosts. 

How  to  destroy  Fungi.  —  A  farmer  ought  to  destroy  the  fungi  in 
and  on  the  soil  as  far  as  possible.     He  can  do  this  in  two  ways. 

First:  He  should  burn  diseased  plants.  Diseased  vegetable 
matter,  such  as  twigs  affected  with  bhght,  tobacco  and  cotton  which 
die  from  wilt,  apples  shriveled  with  bitter  rot,  should  be  collected 
and  burned.  Usually  this  should  be  done  on  the  field  where  they 
are  gathered,  so  as  not  to  spread  disease. 

Second :  The  fungi  in  the  soil  should  be  destroyed  by  starving 
them.  Host  plants  should  not  be  grown  for  several  yeai-s  on  a 
field  where  they  have  been  attacked  by  soil  fungi,  —  tobacco  with 
wilt,  sweet  potatoes  with  rot. 

The  farmer  should  protect  his  crops  against  common  diseases 
by  planting  and  by  breeding  resistant  varieties.  There  are  rust- 
proof varieties  of  oats,  and  wilt-proof  varieties  of  many  plants  sub- 
ject to  this  disease.    Our  native  gooseberries  resist  mildew  better 


206  AGRICULTURE 

than  the  Enghsh  ones.    Oriental  pears  are  not  so  subject  to  blight 
as  European  varieties. 

Fruit  and  grain  should  be  stored  dry  and  in  good  condition. 
Fungi  require  food  in  a  moist  state,  and  are  apt  to  attack  fruit  and 

grain  when  they  are 
put  away  damp. 

Spores  should  be 
removed  from  seeds 
to  which   they  ad- 
here. Grain  affected 
Healthy  Potato  Potato  with  Scab  .^,  ^  , 

with  smut,  and  po- 
tatoes with  scab,  should  be  treated  with  formalin  just  before 
planting.    The  preparation  is  inexpensive  and  easily  applied. 

Usually,  fungi  feed  in  and  on  the  tissue,  and  are  protected  by 
the  thickened  outer  skin  of  the  host  plant.  The  fungi  already 
established  in  a  plant  cannot  be  killed  except  by  treatment  which 
would  destroy  the  host  also.  Therefore,  treatment  for  fungous 
diseases  must  be  largely  preventive,  destroying  the  spores  before 
they  enter  the  plant  cells. 

Fungicides.  —  Fungi,  unlike  higher  plants,  are  made  up  of  ab- 
sorptive tissue.  This  tissue  will  absorb  flowers  of  sulphur  or  salts 
of  copper,  either  of  which  is  destructive  to  it.  Sulphur  is  usually 
applied  as  a  dust-spray  to  the  plants  to  be  protected.  Copper 
sulphate,  or  bluestone,  is  the  cheapest  and  most  effective  form  of 
the  salts  of  copper.  The  copper  sulphate,  dissolved  and  diluted  in 
water,  is  used  on  bark,  limbs,  and  unopened  buds.  But  it  should 
not  be  used  on  foliage  which  its  acid  will  burn  and  injure. 

Without  affecting  its  value  as  a  fiin'gi  fide,  or  fungus- destroyer, 
the  copper  sulphate  may  have  its  acid  neutralized  by  an  alkali, 
such  as  lime.  Two  thirds  of  a  pound  of  unslaked  lime  will 
neutralize  the  acid  in  one  pound  pf  copper  sulphate.    A  mixture 


CROP   ENEMIES    AND   FRIENDS 


207 


of  lime  and  copper  sulphate  in  water,  called  Bor  deaux'(do)  mix- 
ture, is  generally  used  for  fungous  diseases  affecting  foliage  and 
fruit.     It  should  be  applied  thoroughly  as  a  fine  mist.    The  for- 


Courtoy  of  New  York  Agricultural  Station 

Sprayed  and  Unsprayed  Potato  Vines  in  a  Field  affected  with  Blight 

mula  for  Bordeaux  mixture  and  directions  for  its  preparation  are 
given  in  the  appendix  on  page  307. 


EXERCISE 

1.  Keep  a  piece  of  bread  several  days  in  a  damp,  warm  place.  Ex- 
amine under  a  microscope  the  mold  which  forms  on  it. 

2.  Cut  a  sound  apple  with  a  clean  knife  and  seal  it  in  a  clean,  dry 
jar.  Cut  another  sound  apple  with  a  knife  that  has  been  inserted  in 
a  rotten  one;  then  seal  the  sound  and  rotten  apples  in  a  jar  together. 
What  are  the  results? 


208  AGRICULTURE 

3.  Take  two  potatoes  aJBfected  with  scab.  Wash  one  in  the  for- 
malin preparation  described  in  the  appendix  on  page  307.  Plant 
both.  What  is  the  difference  in  the  appearance  of  the  crop  from 
each  ? 

4.  Examine  plants  affected  with  fungous  diseases.  What  are  the 
most  troublesome  fungous  diseases  of  your  locality?  What  crops  do 
they  attack,  and  what  remedies  are  used? 

INSECT    ENEMIES 

Injuries  from  Insects.  —  Of  all  the  creatures  of  the  animal  world, 
which  inflict  most  injury  on  man?  You  think  first  of  the  beasts 
of  the  field,  —  fierce  lions  and  man-eating  tigers.  But  man  has 
worse  foes  than  these.  You  name  the  serpents,  —  venomous 
rattlesnakes  and  deadly  cobras.  Yet  it  is  not  they  that  inflict 
most  injury  on  the  human  race. 

More  harm  and  ruin  and  death  have  been  caused  by  insects  than 
by  all  other  creatures  of  the  animal  world.  Indeed,  we  are  only 
beginning  to  realize  the  extent  of  their  injuries, —  as,  for  in- 
stance, that  they  convey  germs  of  diseases,  such  as  malaria  and 
yellow  fever. 

But  though  their  work  as  messengers  of  disease  is  just  being  made 
known,  their  work  as  messengers  of  want  and  famine  is  an  old 
story.  Since  Pharaoh  ruled  in  Egypt,  thousands  of  years  ago, 
history  has  been  recording  plagues  of  insects.  They  come  on  foot 
in  hosts  such  as  no  human  army  ever  gathered;  they  come  on 
wings  so  that  the  face  of  the  earth  is  darkened.  They  find  fair 
fields  and  bountiful  crops  and  leave  behind  —  not  one  green  twig 
nor  blade  of  grass. 

By  skill  and  labor  man  has  learned  to  some  extent  to  control 
them  and  to  prevent  their  ravages.  Yet  every  year  in  the  United 
States  insects  destroy  at  least  one  tenth  of  the  agricultural  crops. 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND   FRIENDS 


209 


Canker  Worms  on  Apple 
Leaves 


They  cause  the  farmers  of  the  coun- 
try an  annual  loss  of  not  less  than 
five  hundred  million  dollars. 

At  least  two  thirds  of  this  loss 
might  be  prevented  by  proper 
methods  and  remedies.  Is  it  not 
the  part  of  wisdom  for  every  farm- 
er to  know  and  practice  these? 
In  order  to  use  them,  he  must  know 
the  insects  most  apt  to  injure  his 

crops,  their  different  forms  in  different  stages,  their  habits 
of  feeding,  and  when  and  how  they  can  be  most  easily  and 
economically  destroyed. 

An  Insect. — An  insect  is  a  small  animal  which  breathes 
air  through  its  body,  has  six  legs,  and  a  body  divided  into 
three  parts  —  head,  tho'rax,  and  ab  do'men.  On  the  head 
are  the  mouth,  the  an  ten'nae  or  feelers,  and  the  eyes.  The 
thorax  is  in  three  parts,  on  each  of  which  is  a  pair  of  legs. 
Some  insects  are  wingless,  but  most  adult  insects  have  one 
or  two  pairs  of  wings  on  the  thorax.  On  the  abdomen  are 
tubes,  called  spir'a  cles,  through  which  the  insect  breathes. 

Ants,  flies,  bugs,  beetles,  grasshoppers,  moths,  and  but- 
terflies are  insects.  Spiders,  which  are  often  called  insects, 
have  eight  legs,  and  belong  to  a  different  class  of  animals 
of  the  same  group. 

Insects  usually  pass  through  four  stages,  —  egg,  lar'va, 
pu'pa,  i  ma'go. 

Larva. — The  insect  comes  from  the  tiny  egg  as  a  larva,  a 
worm-hke  creature  very  unlike  the  parent.  The  larvae  are 
greedy  feeders.  They  eat,  literally  and  truly,  all  that  theijr 
skin  will  hold.     When  the  skin  cannot  stretch  any  more 


210  AGRICULTURE 

they  molt,  or  cast,  that  skin  and  grow  a  new  one.  They  repeat 
this  process  several  times  until  they  are  full-grown. 

Pupa. — The  insect  next  enters  the  pupa  state.  The  larva 
ceases  to  eat ;  it  does  not  move.  You  would  think  it  dead.  But 
it  is  only  asleep,  and  in  its  sleep  a  wonderful  change  takes  place. 
The  creeping,  crawling  worm  changes  to  an  imago,  a  winged 
creature. 

Imago.  —  It  waves  its  wings  to  and  fro,  and  flutters  from  flower 
to  flower.  Who  would  ever  guess  that  it  was  once  a  dull  worm, 
that  fed  on  the  leaves  of  plants  ?     Instead  of  feeding  greedily  on 


JNB 

A  Full-grown  Grasshopper 


leaves,  it  sips  nectar  from  flowers.  It  lays  its  eggs  in  a  protected 
place  where  its  young  can  find  suitable  food.  Soon  after  it  lays 
its  eggs,  it  dies.  This  is  the  life  history  of  a  perfect  winged  insect, 
such  as  the  butterfly.  Moths  resemble  butterflies  in  appearance, 
but  fly  abroad  chiefly  at  night,  or  in  the  dusk,  instead  of  by  day, 
as  do  butterflies. 

Nymphs.  —  Every  insect  does  not  pass  through  all  these  stages. 
Some,  such  as  bugs  and  locusts,  or  grasshoppers,  have  only  three 
stages,  —  egg,  nymph,  and  a  dult'.  The  nymphs  resemble  the 
adults,  and  attain  their  growth  by  molting,  without  entering  the 
pupa  state. 

Larvae.  —  It  is  as  larvae  that  insects  are  usually  most  injurious 
to  crops,  but  it  is  often  easier  to  kill  them  in  other  stages.     If  we 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND   FRIENDS 


211 


know  that  a  destructive  worm  will  issue  from  the  harmless-looking 
pupa,  we  will  crush  it.  If  we  realize  that  the  moth  flitting  about  our 
yard  will  lay  hundreds  and  thousands  of  eggs  that  bring  forth  in- 
jurious caterpillars,  we  will  give  her  swift  and  painless  death. 

Moths.  — The  worms  and  caterpillars  most  destructive  to  crops 
are   the   larvae  of   moths.     Among   these    are   the    canker  worm, 
the  army  worm,  the  tent  caterpillar,  the  cabbage,  tobacco,  and 
currant  worms,  the   cotton 
boll   worm,    the    cutworm, 
and  the  larvae  of  the  cod- 
ling moth  and  gypsy  moth. 

Codling  Moth.— The  cod- 
hng  moth  is  one  of  our  im- 
ported pests.  It  lays  its 
eggs  on  young  apples  just 
after  the  blossoms  fall.  An 
egg  hatches  into  a  larva 
which  burrows  into  the  fruit 
and  feeds  on  it.  This  causes 
the  apple  to  fall  before  it  is 
ripe.  The  full-grown  larva 
leaves  the  apple  and  crawls 
up  the  tree  trunk,  enters  the 
pupa  state,  and  issues  as  a 
moth. 

The  easiest  way  to  deal  with  this  pest  is  to  trap  the  moths  by 
bands  of  cloth  wrapped  around  the  tree  trunk.  The  moths  collect 
under  these  and  can  be  destroyed.  The  tree  should  be  sprayed 
or  dusted  with  poison  as  soon  as  the  blossoms  fall.  It  is  useless 
to  spray  against  the  larvae  after  the  blossom-end  turns  downward, 
as  they  are  then  protected  by  the  position  of  the  fruit. 


An  apple  injured  by  the  larva  of  the  codling 
moth,  which  is  shown  on  the  apple;  above,  is 
shown  the  moth. 


212 


AGRICULTURE 


A  Tobacco  Cut- 
worm 


If  unchecked,  they  often  destroy  from  one  fourth  to  three  fourths 
of  the  apple  crop.  It  costs  miUions  of  dollars  every  year  to  spray 
fruit  trees  in  order  to  protect  them  against  this  pest.  There  is  a 
fly,  described  later,  which  helps  the  farmer  by  de- 
stroying the  larva)  of  the  codling  moth. 

Cutworms.  — Cutworms  are  the  enemies  of  almost 
all  garden,  plants  and  of  many  field  crops.  The 
name  is  applied  to  the  larvae  of  different  moths, 
which  are  so  similar  in  appearance  and  habits 
that  they  may  be  described  together. 
The  adult  moths  have  dark  fore  wings  and  lighter  hind  wings. 
They  lay  their  eggs  about  midsummer.  The  larva?  soon  hatch  and 
begin  to  feed,  but  on  the  abundant  summer  foliage  their  ravage  is 
hardly  noticed.  In  the  fall  they  hollow  out  cells  in  the  earth,  where 
they  sleep  through  the  winter.  In  the  spring  they  come  out  and 
feed  greedily  on  the  tender  young  plants.  They  cut  these  off  at 
the  surface  and  eat  the  stem  and  leaves.  Like  the  parent  moths, 
they  usually  feed  only  at  night ;  but  when  food  is  scarce  they  feed 
in  the  day.  When  full-grown,  cutworms  are  dull  brown,  gray, 
or  greenish  in  color.  They 
enter  the  earth  and  remain 
there  in  the  pupa  state  till 
summer,  and  then  come  out 
as  moths. 

The  best  way  to  destroy  cut- 
worms is  by  thorough  cultiva- 
tion and  by  poison.  Weeds 
and  grass  in  fields  about  to  be 

cultivated  may  be  sprayed  with  Paris  green,  or  the  poison  can 
be  applied  to  bunches  of  clover  or  grass  scattered  where  cutworms 
are  trpublesonie, 


The  Moth  of  the  Tobacco  Cutworm 


This  Twig,  from  which  the  Petals  have  just  fallen,  is  ready 

FOR  spraying  against  THE   CODLING  MOTH. 


Courtesy  of  New  Vork  .Vi^riiultiiral  Station 


In  THIS  Twig  the  Blossom  Ends  are  closing,  and  it  is  almost  too 

LATE  to  spray  AGAINST  THE  CODLING  MOTH. 


214 


AGRICULTURE 


Beetles.  —  Beetles  have  four  wings.  The  fore  wings,  called 
sheath  wings,  are  hard  and  often  bright-colored;  the  thin  hind 
ones  are  kept  folded  under  the  sheath  wings.  Beetles  are  often 
injurious  in  the  imago  as  well  as  in  the  larva  form. 

Colorado  Potato  Beetle.  — This  is  the  case  with  the  Colorado 
potato  beetle.     It  was  an  invasion  of  this  insect  that  brought  about 

the  use  of  Paris  green  as  an  in- 
secticide, which  has  saved  mil- 
lions of  dollars'  worth  of  crops. 
The  potato  beetle  is  a  native  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  There,  it 
feeds  on  weeds  of  the  nightshade 
family,  to  which  the  potato  be- 
longs. Within  thirty  years,  it 
has  extended  its  home  to  most 
parts  of  the  United  States. 

The  black-and-yellow  beetle 
winters  in  the  ground.  It  comes 
out  in  the  spring  and  feeds  rav- 
enously on  the  potato,  horse 
nettle,  and  eggplant.  The  female 
deposits  its  little  yellow  eggs  — 
six  hundred  to  a  thousand  in  number  —  in  patches  on  the  under 
side  of  the  leaves.  These  eggs  hatch  in  a  few  days  into  slug-like 
larvae.  The  beetles  are  hungry,  but  the  larvae  are  ravenous. 
They  feed  greedily  for  four  or  live  weeks,  then  enter  the  ground 
and  come  forth  in  a  few  days  as  beetles.  There  are  three  or 
four  broods  every  season. 

To  stop  the  ravages  of  beetles,  hand  picking  is  used  to  some  ex- 
tent, but  poison  is  the  best  remedy.  The  farmer  is  aided  in  the 
work  by  some  birds,  especially  crows,  by  ladybird  beetles,  and  by 


Colorado  Potato  Beetle 

Beetle,  larva,  and  eggs  are  shown  on  this 
spray  of  a  potato  plant. 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND   FRIENDS 


215 


several  kinds  of  bugs  and  ground  beetles  which  feed  on  the  potato 
beetles  and  their  larvae. 

Mexican  Cotton  Boll  Weevil.  — The  Mexican  cotton  boll  weevil 
is  so  destructive  that  it  has  caused  the  cultivation  of  cotton  to  be 
abandoned  in  large  areas  in  Mexico.  About  fifteen  years  ago  the 
weevil  was  brought  into  Texas,  and  in  the  region  invaded  it  has 
caused  a  loss  of  from  twenty-five  to  ninety  per  cent  of  the  cotton 


Mexican  Cotton  Boll  Weevil,  Beetle,  Larva,  and  Pupa 
Five  times  natural  size 

crop.  It  is  now  found  in  one  third  of  the  cotton  section,  and  is 
extending  its  range  year  by  year.  Our  American  farmers  are  not 
disposed  to  surrender  their  cotton  fields  to  the  boll  weevil,  as  did 
the  Mexicans.  Labor  and  science  have  found  ways  of  lessening 
its  injuries,  and  probably  a  method  will  be  discovered,  sooner  or 
later,  of  controlling  it. 

The  insect  which  does  so  much  mischief  is  a  small  grayish  beetle 
about  one  fourth  of  an  inch  in  length.  With  its  snout  it  makes 
a  hole  in  the  cotton  square  or  boll,  and  there  deposits  an  egg.  This 
becomes  a  grub,  which  lives  in  and  feeds  upon  the  square  or  boll. 


2l6 


AGRICULTURE 


It  causes  a  square  to  drop;  usually,  a  boll  remains  on  the 
plant,  but  it  becomes  stunted  and  dwarfed  and  the  fiber  is 
ruined. 

The  larva,  when  full-grown,  is  about  three  eighths  of  an  inch  in 
length.  It  then  enters  the  pupa  state  and  becomes  a  beetle.  This 
round  of  life  takes  about  four  weeks.     As  the  bolls  dry  in  the  fall, 

the  beetles  leave  them  and  seek 

shelter  under  rubbish,  trash, 
or  weeds,  where  they  spend 
the  winter. 

Since  the  weevil  hfe  is  spent 
and  its  damage  done  chiefly 
in  the  square  or  boll,  poison 
and  picking  cannot  be  used 
to  any  extent.  Colonies  of 
ants  are  being  introduced  into 
Texas,  which  feed  on  the  wee- 
vil and  may  help  keep  the  pest 
in  check.  Attempts  which  may 
be  successful  are  being  made 
to  breed  a  weevil-resisting 
variety  of  cotton. 
The  best  way  yet  devised  to  control  the  weevil  is  by  cultural 
methods.  Trash  in  and  around  fields  which  affords  winter 
quarters  for  the  beetles  should  be  burned.  They  are  most  de- 
structive late  in  the  season,  and  do  not  seriously  injure  an  early- 
maturing  crop.  This  may  be  secured  by  the  use  of  early  varieties 
and  northern-grown  seed  and  of  fertilizers,  and  by  thorough  and 
frequent  cultivation  of  the  crop. 

Chinch  Bug. — The  chinch  bug  injures  small  grain  and  corn, 
and  has  done  more  damage  than  any  other  insect  in  the  grain-grow- 


Cotton  bloom  hollowed  out  by  boll  weevil 
larva 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND   FRIENDS  21/ 

ing  sections  of  the  United  States.  The  loss  caused  by  it  amounts 
to  hundreds  of  milKons  of  dollars. 

It  is  a  harmless-looking  little  bug,  about  one  fifth  of  an  inch 
long,  with  a  black  body  and  white  wings.  It  winters  under  clumps 
of  grass  and  rubbish  or  in  cornstalks.  In  spring  it  comes  forth 
and  the  female  lays  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  eggs,  which  hatch 
in  two  or  three  weeks  into  reddish  little  bugs.  These  feed  on  the 
grain  plants,  and  are  full-grown  just  about  harvest  time.  When 
wheat  is  cut,  they  go  to  oats,  and  after  oat  harvest  they  go  to  the 
cornfields. 

The  period  of  their  migration  is  the  only  time  that  man  can  attack 
them  with  any  degree  of  success.  Though  they  have  wings,  they 
travel  on  foot.  If  a  ditch  or  deep  furrow  with  steep  sides  of  pulver- 
ized earth  be  put  around  the  fields,  they 
fall  in,  and  can  be  crushed,  or  killed  with 
kerosene  spray.  A  strip  of  coal  tar  an 
inch  or  two  wide  will  also  catch  and  de- 
stroy them. 

San  Jose  Scale.  —  One  of  the  most  de- 
structive insects  in  orchards  is  the  San  Jose 
(ho  sa')  scale.  It  is  so  small  that  it  is  in- 
visible to  the  naked  eye,  the  mature  insect 
,     .  1  .1  •  .  ^      r  -1  San  Tose  Scale 

bemg  only  one  thirty-second  of   an  mch 

1         4-1,        ^T  4.      '£  1       1      J      i-T-  1  -n        Apple  twig  with  scales  on  it, 

m  length.     Yet,    if.  unchecked,   they  kill  slightly  reduced 

shade   and   fruit    trees,    often    destroying 

whole  orchards.  They  were  introduced  into  California  about  1870, 
and  thence  have  spread  to  nearly  every  state  in  the  Union.  They 
are  so  deadly  and  so  easily  spread,  that  the  greatest  precaution 
should  be  taken  against  them.  The  laws  of  many  states  forbid 
the  selling  of  infested  trees  and  require  treatment  of  infested 
orchards, 


2l8 


AGRICULTURE 


The  scale  may  be  killed  by  kerosene  washes  and  sprays,  or 
by  a    preparation    of   lime,   salt,    and   sulphur.      Badly- infested 

trees,  especially  peaches,  plums,  and 
other  stone  fruits,  are  not  worth 
treating.  They  should  be  cut  and 
burned. 

Insect  Ravages.— These  are  only  a 
few  of  our  many  insect  pests.  We  are 
reminded  of  the  boast  of  the  locusts 
in  the  Eastern  tale:  "  We  are  the  army 
of  the  great  God.  We  produce  ninety- 
nine  eggs.  If  the  hundred  were  com- 
plete, we  should  consume  the  whole 
earth  and  all  that  is  in  it." 

Yet,  vast  and  destructive  as  are  the 
hosts,  the  farmer  can  protect  his  crops 
to  a  great  extent  against  their  ravages. 
He  can  do  this  in  two  ways,  by  cul- 
tural methods  and  by  poisons.  To  use 
cultural  means  successfully,  he  must 
know  the  life  history  of  the  insects  he 
is  combating:  to  use  poison  success- 
fully, he  must  know  their  structure 
and  habits. 
Cultural  Methods.  —  The  best  means  of  controlling  and  check- 
ing most  insects  is  by  cultural  methods. 

The  leaves,  vines,  and  stubble  in  which  and  under  which  many 
insects  winter  should  be  destroyed.  It  is  often  wise  to  burn  these 
on  fields  infested  with  chinch  bugs  and  some  other  insects.  The 
weeds  on  which  injurious  insects  feed  and  breed  should  be 
destroyed  as  far  as  possible. 


Peach  tree  dying  with  San  Jose 
scale 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND    FRIENDS  219 

By  deep  fall  plowing  many  insects  are  destroyed.  Cutworms 
are  brought  to  the  surface  and  are  frozen  in  winter ;  grasshopper 
eggs  are  buried  so  deep  that  the  insects  cannot  come  out. 

FertiHzers  give  plants  vigor  to  resist  injury  from  insects,  espe- 
cially from  root-feeding  ones. 

Insects  collect  on  a  trap  crop  which  is  planted  early  or  at  intervals 
in  another  crop.  They  can  be  destroyed  before  they  attack  the 
main  crop. 

The  time  of  planting  and  cultivation  can  sometimes  be  planned 
so  as  to  check  insect  enemies.  Late-sowed  wheat  suffers  least 
from  the  Hessian  fly,  early- maturing  cotton  largely  escapes  the 
boll  weevil,  late-planted  corn  is  least  injured  by  cutworms. 

Other  things  being  equal,  two  crops  having  the  same  troublesome 
insect  enemies  should  not  be  placed  side  by  side.  Corn  beside 
grass  is  more  liable  to  cutworms;  beside  wheat,  to  chinch  bugs. 

Rotation  of  crops  is  an  important  means  of  protection  against 
insect  injury.  In  the  case  of  many  insects,  it  is  the  only  practicable 
remedy.  If  land  be  planted  in  the  same  crop  year  after  year,  the 
soil  becomes  infested  with  insects  injurious  to  it. 

Insecticides.  — The  kind  of  poison  used  depends  on  the  struc- 
ture and  feeding  habits  of  the  insect.  As  to  feeding  habits,  insects 
may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  —  chewing  and  sucking  ones;  the 
first  have  mouths  arranged  for  chewing  food,  the  second  have 
mouth-tubes  which  they  insert  into  a  plant  or  animal  and  through 
which  they  suck  its  juices. 

Chewing  Insects.  —  Chewing  insects  usually  live  on  the  foliage 
of  plants.  They  can  be  killed  by  applying  to  their  food  plants  a 
poison,  generally  some  form  of  arsenic.  One  of  the  cheapest  and 
best  forms  is  Paris  green.  The  acid  in  it,  Kke  that  in  copper  sul- 
phate, needs  to  be  counteracted  by  an  alkali,  and  so  with  it  also 
lime  is  used.     Properly  prepared  and   applied,   Paris   green   is 


220  AGRICULTURE 

harmless  to  most  plants.  Directions  for  its  preparation  and  use 
are  given  in  the  appendix  on  page  307. 

Of  course  external  poisons  are  useless  against  chewing  insects 
which  hve  in  fruits,  such  as  the  cotton  boll  weevil  and  cur  cu'li  o. 
Cultural  and  other  methods  must  be  used  against  these. 

Sucking  Insects.  —  Poison  applied  to  the  leaf  surface  is  harmless 
to  sucking  insects  also.  We  attack  them  in  another  way.  In- 
sects, as  you  remember,  breathe  through  spiracles,  openings  in 
their  abdomens.  If  these  spiracles  are  closed,  they  perish  for 
lack  of  air.     Applications,  such  as  pry'eth  rum  powder  or  tobacco 


Ai'i'i.Kbi  GKuww  uiN   1  WO  Branches 

On  the  left,  apples  from  a  branch  sprayed  for  codling  moth  ;  on  the  right,  apples  from  an 
unsprayed  branch.  This  shows  comparative  quantity  and  quality  of  crops  from  the  two 
branches. 

dust,  choke  the  breathing  tubes.  Sometimes  sucking  insects  are 
killed  by  an  application,  such  as  lime,  which  destroys  their  body 
tissues. 

Spraying.  —  Here  is  good  advice  about  spraying :  "  Know  the 
enemy  to  be  destroyed;  know  the  remedies  that  are  most  effective, 
and  apply  them  at  the  proper  season.  Be  prompt,  thorough,  and 
persistent." 

EXERCISE 

I.  Compare  a  grasshopper,  a  moth  or  butterfly,  a  bug,  a  beetle, 
and  a  fly.     In  what  ways  are  they  hke  and  in  what  unlike  ? 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND   FRIENDS  221 

2.  Collect  some  common  insects.  Watch  their  changes,  and  write 
an  account  of  their  life  history  from  your  own  observation.  To  catch 
and  keep  insects,  you  need  a  net  and 
a  breeding  jar.  The  net  may  be 
made  by  fastening  a  handle  to  a  small 
hoop,  and  gathering  to  the  hoop  a 
cheese-cloth  bag  two  or  three  feet 
long.  The  jar  should  have  moist 
sand  in  the  bottom  and  a  cover  of  nseci  et 
cheese  cloth.  Keep  the  insects  in  it  supplied  with  fresh  food,  the 
fohage  of  the  plants  on  which  they  are  accustomed  to  feed. 

3.  Take  two  twigs  infested  with  plant  lice  and  two  potato  vines  with 
beetles  on  them.  Spray  one  of  each  with  Paris  green  and  dust  one  of 
each  with  lime.     What  is  the  effect  in  each  case? 

INSECT    FRIENDS 

Helpful  and  Harmful  Insects.  —  After  man  has  done  his  utmost 
by  cultural  methods  and  poisons,  it  would  be  difficult  if  not  im- 
possible for  him  to  keep  the  vast  insect  hosts  in  check.  Fortu- 
nately, he  has  helpers  in  the  animal  world  that  do  the  greater  part 
of  the  work.     Among  these  are  birds  and  insects. 

It  is  not  possible  to  make  a  hard-and-fast  line  between  helpful 
and  harmful  insects.  Some  do  good  in  one  way  and  harm  in 
another;  some  are  friends  under  certain  circumstances  and  foes 
under  others. 

Many  insects  are  directly  valuable  on  account  of  their  products. 
The  bee  yields  a  palatable  food,  the  silkworm  a  much-prized  cloth-' 
ing  material. 

Insects  are  necessary  to  the  well-being  of  many  plants,  to  carry 
pollen  and  fertilize  flowers.  Some  insects,  even  those  that  are 
annoying,  are  useful  in  destroying  dead  organic  matter,  such  as 
decaying  flesh  and  vegetables.  Thus  they  purify  the  air  and  the 
soil,  and  change  waste  matter  into  plant  food. 


222 


AGRICULTURE 


There  are  insects  which  we  regard  as  our  friends  because  they 
act  as  a  check  on  injurious  ones. 

Ladybirds.  — There  are  many  beetles  which  live  on  other  in- 
sects. The  most  useful  of  these  are  the  ladybirds.  There  are  only 
two  or  three  injurious  members  in  this  large  family.  The  lady- 
birds are  small  beetles  with  bright-colored  wings  usually  spotted 
red  and  black.  They  live  among  the  leaves  of  various  kinds  of 
plants.  As  larvae  and  beetles,  they  feed  on  soft-bodied,  injurious 
insects,  such  as  plant  lice  and  flies. 


Ladybird  Beetles 

These  ladybird  beetles  —  the  nine-spotted,  the  fifteen-spotted,  the  two-spotted,  the  twice- 
stabbed,  and  the  pentilia  —  devour  injurious  insects. 


Tiger  and  Ground  Beetles. — There  are  hundreds  of  kinds  of 
tiger  and  ground  beetles,  which  devour  many  cutworms  and  cat- 
erpillars. The  tiger  beetles  are  rather  bright-colored  and  active. 
They  chase  other  insects,  or  lie  in  wait  for  them.  Some  of  the 
ground  beetles  are  shining  black,  others  are  marked  with  brilliant 
colors,  —  gold,  green,  and  purple.  They  usually  prowl  after 
nightfall.     Some  of  them  climb  trees  in  search  of  their  prey. 

Dragon  Flies  and  Damsel  Flies.  — Dragon  flies  and  damsel  flies 
are  graceful  insects,  with  gauzy  wings.  They  live  near  ponds  and 
streams,  and  usually  lay  their  eggs  on  the  water.  They  feed  on 
smaller  insects,  such  as  gnats,  flies,  and  mosquitoes. 

Ichneumon  and  Tachina  Flies.  —  The  ich  neu'mon  and  tach'i  na 
flies  destroy  insects,  not  by  feeding  directly  on  them,  but  by  utihz- 
ing  them  as  food  for  their  mag'gots,  as  the  larvae  of  flies  are  called. 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND   FRIENDS 


223 


These  flies  deposit  their  eggs  on  the  larvae  of  other  insects.  The 
maggots  which  hatch  from  the  eggs  enter  the  larvae  and  destroy 
them  by  feeding  on  their  juices. 


Dragon  Fly,  Different  Stageo 

One  kind  of  ichneumon  fly  locates  the  larvae  which  are  working 
as  borers  in  trees.  It  makes  a  hole  above  them  and  deposits  its 
eggs  on  them.  Other  kinds  destroy  tent- 
worm  caterpillars,  cabbage  worms,  and 
other  injurious  larvae.  From  Spain  there 
has  been  imported  a  fly  which  is  the 
deadly  enemy  of  the  codling  moth.  It 
is  a  wasp-like  fly,  about  five  eighths  of 
an  inch  in  length,  with  two  pairs  of  blue- 
black  wings.  It  has  a  sharp,  dagger-Hke  sting  with  which  it 
impales  the  larvae. 

EXERCISE 

1.  Observe  and  describe  helpful  insects. 

2.  Catch  some  ladybird  beetles  and  put  them  in  a  jar  containing  a 
twig  infested  with  plant  lice.     What  do  the  beetles  do  ? 


Tachina  Fly 
Larva  at  left  and  pupa  at  right 


224 


AGRICULTURE 


BIRDS 


Birds'  Food.  —  Some  birds,  such  as  barn  swallows,  live  wholly 
on  insects,  most  of  which  are  harmful;  some,  such  as  bluebirds, 
eat  both  insects  and  seeds,  chiefly  weed  seeds;    others,  such  as 

sparrows,  live  chiefly 
or  entirely  on  weed 
seeds,  fruit,  and  grain, 
but  feed  their  young 
on  insects  until  they 
are  able  to  digest  hard 
food. 

In  two  ways  birds 
are  especially  fitted 
for  the  work  of  de- 
stroying weed  seeds 
and  insects.  They 
have  keen  eyes  which 
can  discover  tiny  seeds 
and  insects ;  they  have 
hearty  appetites;  it  is 
no  unusual  thing  for 
a  bird  to  eat  its  own 
weight  of  food  in  a  day. 
Birds'  services  as  weec^  seed  and  insect  destroyers  entitle  them 
to  be  regarded  by  the  far.ner  as  among  his  most  helpful  friends. 
Too  often  they  are  not  trea  ed  as  such.  Our  beautiful  and  useful 
song  birds  are  killed  by  hundreds  and  thousands  for  food  or  sport. 
What  cruel  and  wicked  slaughter !  Let  us  do  our  part  to  protect 
and  care  for  these  bird  friends. 


Goldfinch 
A  seed-eating  bird 


Insect-  and  Weed-Seed-Desteoying  Bikds 
Bluebird,      Tree  Sparrow,      Fox  Sparrow,      Kobin 


CROP   ENEMIES   AND   FRIENDS 


225 


Bird  Neighbors.  —  Song  birds  may  be  encouraged  to  nest  about 
the  yard,  garden,  and  orchard.  Their  beauty  and  their  sweet 
songs  make  them  charming 
neighbors.  It  is  a  good  plan 
to  plant  mulberries  and  berry- 
and  seed-bearing  shrubs  near 
the  house.  Water  should  be 
put  where  birds  can  get  it  in 
dry  weather,  and  food  should 
be  provided  when  the  ground 
is  covered  with  snow. 

Useful  Birds.  —  Among  the 
birds  most  helpful  to  the 
farmer  are  the  swallows, 
cuckoos,  woodpeckers,  spar- 
rows, wrens,  Baltimore  oriole, 
bluebird,  partridge,  and  mock- 
ing bird. 

Swallows. — There  are  seven 
common  species  of  swallows 
found  in  the  United  States,  and 
most  of  them  like  to  build 
their  nests  near  houses.  The 
barn  swallow  has  given  up  its 

original  habit  of  building  in  rock  caves  or  under  chffs,  and  makes 
its  nest  under  the  eaves  of  barns  or  often  inside  barns  and  out- 
houses. Like  all  other  insect-eating  birds,  swallows  are  swift 
of  wing.  They  are  rarely  seen  still,  darting  here  and  there  to 
catch  the  flies,  ants,  beetles,  and  other  insects  which  are  their  food. 

Cuckoos.  —  Cuckoos  eat  grasshoppers  and  caterpillars,  as  well 
as  flies  and  bugs.     Unlike  most  other  birds,  cuckoos  eat  hairy  cater- 


Cdiirtivy  ot  ("onm^cticut  Agricultural  Station 

A  Birds'  Christmas  Tree 

Chicadees  are  attracted  to  the  bird  house  by 
food  put  on  the  shelf  for  them. 


226 


AGRICULTURE 


pillars,  many  of  which  are  injurious  to  trees.     Indeed,  caterpillars 
of  various  kinds  seem  to  be  the  chief  article  of  their  diet. 

Woodpeckers.  —  Woodpeck- 
ers are  the  great  friends  of 
forest  and  fruit  trees.  They 
are  sometimes  accused  of  rob- 
bing the  trees  of  sap;  of  only 
one  is  this  true,  the  yellow- 
bellied  woodpecker,  or  sap 
sucker.  All  other  woodpeck- 
ers seek  and  eat  the  wood- 
boring  larvae.  Some  ants  and 
other  insects  are  very  harmful 
to  timber  trees,  often  burrow- 
ing in  them  till  the  whole 
trunk  is  honeycombed.  The 
woodpeckers,  with  their  sharp 
bills,  bore  holes  in  the  wood 
and  draw  the  insects  out  on 
their  tongues.  Thus  they  de- 
stroy many  insects  which  other 
birds  cannot  reach.  They  eat, 
also,  grasshoppers,  beetles,  and 
other  insects,  and  some  small 
fruits  and  berries. 
Sparrows. — There  are  many  species  of  our  native  sparrows,  and 
nearly  all  of  them  are  farmers'  friends.  They  are  chiefly  seed 
eaters,  destroying  great  quantities  of  weed  seeds.  During  the 
summer  and  in  the  breeding  season,  they  eat  insects,  such  as 
injurious  beetles  and  small  grasshoppers.  All  through  the  winter, 
they  are  busy  reducing  next  year's  crop  of  harmful  weeds. 


Courtesy  of  New  Hampshire  Agricultural  Station 

A  caterpillar  nest  which  has  been 
attacked  by  birds 


CROP    ENEMIES    AND    FRIENDS 


227 


Baltimore  Oriole. — The  Baltimore  oriole  is  one  of  our  hand- 
somest birds,  and  is  a  sweet  singer  as  well  as  a  useful  insect-eater. 
Caterpillars  form  the  largest  part  of  its  fare  during  its  summer  stay 
in  our  country.     It  eats 


other  insects,  including 
harmful  plant  Hce,  which 
are  so  small  that  they 
are  searched  out  by  few 
other  birds.  Less  than 
one  fifth  of  its  food  is 
vegetable,  and  that  is 
wild  fruit  and  seeds. 

Wren.— The  little 
house  wrens  are  common 
in  gardens  and  orchards. 
They  live  almost  entirely 
on  insects,  such  as  grass- 
hoppers, beetles,  -cater- 
pillars, and  bugs.  Since 
practically  all  the  insects 
they  destroy  are  injuri- 
ous, they  should  be  en- 
couraged to  take  up  their 
residence  near  houses, 
by  having  nesting  boxes  provided, 
of  reach  of  cats. 

Chickadee.  —  The  chickadee  is  one  of  our  tiny  bird  friends.  It 
feeds  on  small  insects,  such  as  bark  lice,  and  on  insect  eggs  which 
escape  the  notice  of  most  other  birds. 

Bluebird.  — The  pretty  and  common  bluebird  is  another  useful 
friend.    About  three  fourths  of  its  food  is  insects,  chiefly  grass- 


Bluebird  at  edge  of  nest,  with  grasshopper  in  its 
mouth 


These  should  be  fastened  out 


228  AGRICULTURE 

hoppers  and  caterpillars.  Its  vegetable  food  consists  mainly  of 
weed  seeds  eaten  in  winter.  It  should  be  protected  and  encour- 
aged to  build  near  houses. 

The  birds  mentioned  are  almost  if  not  altogether  harmless, 
but  this  is  not  the  case  with  all  our  bird  neighbors. 

Robin  and  Catbird. — The  catbird  and  the  robin  in  its  red- 
brown  coat  are  familiar  figures  hopping  about  the  yard  or  garden. 
Nearly  one  half  of  their  food  is  made  up  of  insects,  chiefly  harmful 
beetles,  caterpillars,  and  grasshoppers.  The  remainder  of  their 
food  consists  of  small  fruits  and  berries.  The  fruit-grower  com- 
plains especially  of  their  thefts  of  berries  and  cherries.  They  are 
fond  of  mulberries,  and  many  orchardists  protect  cherry  trees  by 
planting  near  them  the  Russian  mulberry,  as  the  fruit  of  both 
ripens  about  the  same  time. 

Bobolink,  or  Rice  Bird.  —  The  bobolink  is  the  northern  name  for 
a  bird  which  is  called  rice  bird  in  the  South.  It  has  a  reputation 
in  the  two  sections  as  different  as  its  two  names.  In  its  summer 
sojourn  in  the  North,  it  is  welcomed  as  a  song  bird,  which  confines 
itself  to  a  harmless  diet  of  insects  and  weed  seeds.  It  spends  the 
winter  in  South  America,  going  southward  in  great  flocks  in  August 
and  September.  These  flocks  reach  the  southern  states  just  as 
rice  ripens.  They  pause  to  rest  and  feast  on  the  grain  before  they 
take  their  long  sea  flight.  It  is  estimated  that  they  occasion  rice- 
growers  an  annual  loss  of  about  two  million  dollars.  Millions  of 
rice  birds  are  killed  every  year,  but  their  numbers  do  not  decrease, 
and  the  farmers  are  still  seeking  a  remedy  for  the  evil. 

Red-winged  Blackbird.  —  The  red-winged,  or  swamp,  blackbird 
is  another  instance  of  a  bird  that  is  harmful  in  one  section  and 
harmless  in  others.  Usually  it  feeds  chiefly  on  insects,  such  as 
weevils  and  beetles.  But  in  the  swamps  and  shallows  of  the 
upper  Mississippi  Valley  there  are  bred  immense  flocks  which  do 


CROP   ENEMIES    AND  FRIENDS 


229 


great  damage  to  the  grain  fields  of  the  West.  The  young  birds 
learn  to  fly  just  as  grain  begins  to  ripen,  and  the  old  birds 
lead  them  to  the  grain  fields. 

Crow.  —  In  the  East  the  crow  has  as  bad  a  reputation  as  a  grain 
eater  as  the  red-winged  blackbird  has  in  the  West.  The  Indians 
call  the  crow  the  'thief  of  the  cornfield.'  It  pulls  up  and  eats 
seed  corn  that  has  been  softened  alid  sweetened  by  germination. 
The  crow  also  attacks  corn  when  the  ear  is  soft,  tearing  open  the 
husks  and  pecking  the  kernels.  The  ear  thus  exposed  to  the 
weather  is  often  rotted  by  rain. 

As  a  rule,  however,  crows  destroy  so  many  mice,  grasshoppers, 
bugs,  cutworms,  and  other  crop  enemies  that  they  more  than 
pay  for  the  corn  they  eat. 

Harmful  Birds.  — There  are  a  few  birds  which  do  so  much  harm 
that  it  outweighs  the  good  they  do.  Among  these  are  the  sharp- 
shinned  hawk,  Cooper's  hawk,  goshawk,  and  duck  tiawk.  The 
first  two  destroy  poultry,  and  all  of  them  feed  on  game  and  insect- 
eating  birds. 

The  greatest  bird  pest  in  the  United  States  is  the  English  sparrow. 
These  sparrows  were  brought  to  this  country  from  England  about 
sixty  years  ago,  with  the  expectation  that  they  would  destroy  the 
insects  on  shade  trees.  Instead,  they  adopted  a  vegetable  diet, 
doing  much  injury  to  grain  and  fruit  buds  and  blossoms.  They 
have  increased  enormously  in  numbers  and  have  spread  by  millions 
all  over  the  country. 

English  sparrows  are  noisy  and  quarrelsome,  the  enemies  of 
many  insect-eating  birds,  and  they  are  pests  around  houses.  The 
best  method  of  destroying  them  is  by  poisoned  grain  exposed  during 
the  winter  months  on  places  out  of  reach  of  poultry. 


230  AGRICULTURE 

EXERCISE 

1.  What  birds  are  found  in  your  locality  all  the  year?     Name  some 
you  see  only  in  winter ;   only  in  summer. 

2.  What  troublesome  weeds  and  insects  of  your  locality  do  birds 
aid  in  destroying? 

3.  Study  the  feeding  and  nesting  habits  of  three  common  birds. 
Write  an  account  of  them  based  on  your  own  observation. 

4.  Read  Longfellow's  poem,  ''  The  Birds  of  Killingworth." 


OUTLINE   OF  CHAPTER   SIX 
DOMESTIC  ANIMALS 

Stock  Raising: 

Advantages : 

Secures  greatest  profit  from  feeds  and  fodders 

Retains  in  manure  most  of  fertilizing  value 
Animals  need: 

Proper  food 

Pure  water 

Good  shelter 

Pure  air 

Kind  treatment 
Animal  food  consists  of: 

Water 

Protein,  or  nitrogenous  compounds 

Fats,  or  oils 

Carbohydrates,  or  starchy  and  sugary  substances 

Ash,  or  mineral  matter 
Food  supplies  material: 

For  heat 

To  repair  waste  of  system 

For  force  or  energy 

For  growth  and  fattening 
Kinds  of  food: 

Bulky  foods,  fodders,  roughage,  and  forage: 
Stems,  branches,  leaves,  and  roots  of  plants 

Concentrated  foods  or  feeds: 
Seeds 
Balanced  and  unbalanced  rations 
Rules  for  feeding: 

Feed  animals  all  they  eat  with  relish  and  without  waste 

Feed  a  balanced  ration 

Give  food  of  bulk  adapted  to  animal's  stomach 

231 


232  AGRICULTURE 

Give  variety  of  food 

Feed  regularly 
Pasturing  and  soiling  systems 
Cattle: 
Products : 

Milk,  cream,  butter,  cheese,  veal,  beef,  leather,  etc. 
Beef  breeds: 

Shorthorn,  Hereford,  Galloway,  Aberdeen  or  Polled  Angus,  eic. 
Dairy  breeds: 

Milk  breeds: 

Ayrshire,  Holstein-Frisian,  etc. 

Butter  breeds: 
Jersey,  Guernsey,  etc. 
General-purpose  breeds: 

Shorthorn  or  Durham,  Hereford,  Devon,  Red  Polled,  etc. 
Butter  making 
Some  diseases  of  cattle: 

Tuberculosis 

Tick,  or  Texas,  fever 
Horses : 
Uses: 

Riding,  driving,  pulling,  and  hauling 
Draft  breeds: 

Percheron,  Clydesdale,  mules,  etc. 
Light  horses  or  roadsters: 

Thoroughbreds,  trotting  horses,  saddlers,  carriage  or  coach  horses, 
ponies 
Shoeing,  checkrein,  docking 
Sheep : 
Products: 

Lamb,  mutton,  wool,  leather 
Fine  wool  breeds: 

Merino,  etc. 
Mutton  breeds: 

Southdown,  Shropshire,  Hampshire,  Dorset,  Leicester,  Oxford, 
etc. 


DOiMESTIC   ANIMALS 


233 


Some  diseases  of  sheep: 

Fly,  foot  rot,  scab 
Goats: 
Products: 

Milk,  cheese,  hair,  mutton,  leather 
Chief  breeds: 

Malta,  Angora 
Hogs: 

Products: 

Lard,  meat,  leather,  etc. 
American  breeds: 

Chester  White,  Poland  China,  Duroc  Jersey  or  Jersey  Red,  etc. 
English  breeds: 

Yorkshire,  Berkshire,  Tamworth,  Essex,  etc. 
Chief  disease: 

Cholera 
Poultry : 
Products: 

Eggs,  meat 
Hens: 

Egg  breeds: 
Leghorns,  Houdans,  Minorca,  Spanish,  etc. 

Meat  breeds: 

Brahma,  Cochin,  Langshan,  Game,  etc. 

General-purpose  breeds: 

Orpington,  Plymouth  Rock,  Wyandotte,  Rhode  Island  Red,  etc. 
Ducks,  turkeys,  geese,  guinea  fowls,  peafowls,  pigeons 
Food,  quarters,  diseases 
Bees: 
Uses: 

Honey,  pollen  carrying 
Breeds: 

Native  brown  or  black,  Cyprian,  Italian,  Corniolan,  Caucasian,  etc. 
Queen,  drones,  workers 
Beekeeping 


AT  THE  Water  Trough 


CHAPTER  SIX 

DOMESTIC   ANIMALS 

STOCK  RAISING 

Indian  Farming.  —  Three  hundred  years  ago  the  plains  and 
forests  of  this  vast  country  were  dotted  here  and  there  with  the 
farms,  or  patches,  of  Indians.  These  were  usually  little  spots  of 
mellow  soil.  Indian  women  stirred  the  surface  with  crooked 
sticks,  buried  seed  corn  in  the  soil  thus  prepared,  and  with  the  aid 
of  children  pulled  up  weeds,  frightened  away  'robber  crows,' 
and  gathered  the  ripe  grain. 

In  addition  to  the  patch  of  corn  there  were,  perhaps,  others  of 
tobacco  and  beans;  these,  also,  the  women  and  children  cultivated 
by  hand.  The  North  American  Indians  kept  no  domestic  animals, 
—  horses,  mules,  oxen,  cows,  hogs,  sheep,  or  poultry. 

Domestic  Animals.  —  Very  different  are  the  vast  and  productive 
farms  which  have  succeeded  the  Indian  patches.  Our  system  of 
farming  depends  largely  on  the  use  of  domestic  animals;  over  one 
third  the  value  of  the  farms  of  the  United  States  is  in  the  stock 
kept  on  them.  Horses,  mules,  and  oxen  cultivate  the  crops  and 
do  the  hauling.  Cows  supply  milk,  butter,  and  beef;  sheep  fur- 
nish lamb  and  mutton,  as  well  as  wool;  hogs  yield  pork  and  lard; 
fowls  give  eggs  and  chickens;  bees  provide  honey. 

The  farmer  who  lacks  these  animals  on  his  farm  is  apt  to  lack 
their  products  on  his  table.     Even  when  markets  are  convenient, 

235 


236  AGRICULTURE 

it  is  usually  less  expensive  and  more  desirable  to  raise  them  than 
to  buy  them. 

Animal  Products.  —  It  is  often  not  only  desirable  to  raise  these 
products  for  home  use  but  profitable  to  raise  them  for  sale.  There 
is  a  large  and  constant  demand  for  milk,  cream,  butter,  cheese, 
beef,  eggs,  chickens,  turkeys,  lard,  pork,  bacon,  honey,  lamb, 
mutton,  wool,  and  leather. 

Why  Stock  Raising  Pays.  —  As  a  rule,  farms  and  farmers  are 
richer  when  stock  farming  is  practiced.  Stock  farming  makes 
larger  returns  in  dollars  and  cents  for  the  amount  of  fertility  taken 
from  the  soil  than  does  any  other  branch  of  farming. 

On  every  farm  there  are  feeds  and  fodders  which  it  pays  better 
to  feed  to  stock  than  to  use  in  any  other  way.  Hay,  fodder,  and 
other  bulky  foods  are  expensive  to  handle  and  have  a  comparatively 
low  market  value.  It  is  easier  to  handle  and  market  '  corn  on  the 
hoof,'  as  cattle  and  hogs,  than  corn  on  the  cob.  Changed  into  more 
concentrated  forms,  such  as  wool,  milk,  and  butter,  farm  products 
are  still  more  conveniently  marketed  and  command  higher  prices. 

The  good  farmer  receives  these  higher  prices,  and  yet  retains  the 
larger  part  of  the  value  of  the  food  consumed  by  domestic  animals. 
Only  a  small  part  of  the  fertilizing  elements  of  their  food  is  used 
in  making  bone,  muscle,  flesh,  and  products.  The  larger  part  is 
returned  to  the  land  in  manure. 

To  make  a  success  of  stock  raising,  one  must  be  interested  in 
animals  and  in  their  growth  and  improvement,  must  understand 
their  needs,  must  care  for  them  well,  and  must  feed  them  intelli- 
gently so  as  to  make  the  greatest  gains  at  the  least  expense.  Profit 
in  stock  raising,  as  in  crop  raising,  lies  in  producing  the  most  and  the 
best  at  least  expense. 

Care  of  Animals.  —  Animals  require  much  care  and  attention  in 
different  ways.    They  need  an  abundance  of  proper  food  and  pure 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS  237 

water.  They  need  pure  air,  but  they  need  also  protection  against 
wind  and  rain,  cold  and  heat.  Therefore  they  should  have  clean, 
dry,  comfortable  quarters. 

Stock  should  be  kept  clean,  free  from  ticks  and  lice,  and  sick 
ones  should  be  separated  from  well  ones.  Care  should  be  taken  to 
keep  the  water  supply  pure,  as  disease  is  often  caused  and  spread 
by  impure  water.  It  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  'an 
ounce  of  prevention  is  worth  a  pound  of  cure.'  Usually,  animals 
that  have  good  care,  proper  food,  and  pure  water  are  in  vigorous 
heakh. 

Animals  should  be  kindly  treated.  '  It  is  true  of  them  as  of  men 
that  it  is  worry  not  work  which  kills.'  Some  men  take  many 
dollars  out  of  their  own  pockets  every  year  by  neglect  or  ill  treat- 
ment of  their  stock.  Neglected,  poorly  fed,  ill-used  animals  are 
stunted  in  growth  and  stinted  in  products.  Naturally  they  are 
unprofitable. 

Breeds.  — There  are  some  animals  that  do  not  repay  even  good 
attention.  As  it  costs  no  more  in  care  and  feed  to  keep  good  stock 
than  bad,  a  farmer  should  try  to  secure  the  best.  He  should 
select  the  breeds  best  adapted  to  his  special  purposes,  —  produc- 
tion of  wool  or  mutton,  beef  or  milk,  eggs  or  chickens,  etc. 

It  is  usually  economical  to  pay  higher  prices  and  secure  pure- 
bred animals,  —  that  is,  those  in  which  the  traits  desired  have  by 
heredity  and  selection  become  fixed  as  habits.  Some  farmers 
prefer  high-grade  stock,  a  cross  between  common  stock  and  pure- 
bred; it  is  usually  hardier  than  pure-bred  and  less  subject  to 
disease.  A  pure-bred  sire  at  the  head  of  a  flock  or  herd  will  add 
greatly  to  the  value  of  common  stock. 

Whether  pure-bred  or  grade  stock  be  used,  inferior  specimens 
should  be  sold  or  slaughtered,  and  food  and  care  given  to  animals 
which  make  the  best  returns  for  them. 


238  AGRICULTURE 

The  kind  and  quantity  of  food  given  animals  is  a  matter  of  so 
much  importance  that  there  is  a  saying  that  'feed  makes  breed.' 

We  have  learned  something  about  crop  feeding  ;  let  us  now  con- 
sider the  subject  of  stock  feeding. 

-  Soil  and  Plant.  —  You  have  already  learned  that  processes  in 
the  soil  prepare  elements  for  plant  use,  changing  unavailable  ones 
into  available  forms.  Then  the  plant  changes  these  inorganic 
elements,  gases  and  minerals,  into  organic  structure,  corn, 
clover,  cotton,  —  according  to  its  nature. 

Plant  and  Animal.  — The  plant  changes  substances  into  pro'tein 
or  compounds  containing  nitrogen,  into  fat  or  oils,  and  into  starchy 
and  sugary  compounds  called  car  bo  hy'drates.  In  addition 
to  these,  the  plant  contains  water  and  ash  or  mineral  matter.  The 
animal  body  is  made  up  of  similar  substances,  for  all  of  which, 
except  water,  animals  are  dependent  on  food  furnished  directly  or 
indirectly  by  plants. 

As  the  soil  processes  prepare  elements  for  the  plant,  so  the  plant 
prepares  them  for  the  animal.  Corn  and  clover,  hay  and  grain, 
are  changed  by  the  animal  into  blood,  flesh,  and  bone. 

Food  Assimilation.  — The  process  begins  in  the  mouth.  There 
the  food  is  chewed  and  mixed  with  saliva.  It  passes  through  the 
stomach  and  the  intestines,  where  it  is  subjected  to  the  action  of 
various  juices;  food  thus  acted  on  is  said  to  be  'digested.'  This 
digested  food  passes  through  tiny  tubes,  called  lS,c'te  als,  into  the 
blood  vessels.  As  the  sap  carries  nourishment  to  the  plant,  the 
blood  carries  nourishment  to  the  animal  and  in  a  wonderful  way 
not  clearly  understood  by  us  makes  flesh  and  bone.  The  un- 
digested part  of  the  food  passes  from  the  system  through  the  kidneys 
and  bowels. 

Uses  of  Food.  —  Let  us  consider  the  uses  of  food  to  animals. 

First :  Food  supplies  material  to  repair  the  waste  of  the  system, 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS 


239 


CuintC'sy  of  Michigan  Agricultural  Station 

Thoroughbred  and  Scrub  Cattle 

These  two  head  of  cattle  are  of  the  same  age,  and  have  had  the  same  care 
and  food.    Which  does  it  pay  to  raise  ? 


240  AGRICULTURE 

Just  as  a  fire  needs  fuel  to  keep  it  going,  the  animal  needs  food 
to  keep  it  alive.  Every  beat  of  the  heart,  every  movement  of  the 
body,  wears  out  tissue,  and  the  old  particles  must  be  replaced  by 
new.  This  change  goes  on  gradually  but  so  constantly  that  all 
particles  in  the  body  —  except,  it  is  believed,  the  enamel  of  the 
teeth  —  are  replaced  by  new  particles.  This  new  tissue  is  formed 
by  nourishment  which  comes  from  the  food.  Protein  is  a  flesh 
former  or  tissue  builder.  It  forms  muscles,  nerve  tissue,  brains, 
bone,  skin,  hair,  wool,  nails,  hoofs,  and  the  solid  white  substance 
of  the  blood.  The  ash  forms  ash,  giving  firmness  to  bones  and 
teeth. 

Second:  Food  supplies  heat.  In  summer  or  winter  the  tem- 
perature of  the  body  must  be  kept  at  about  98°.  Body  heat  is  kept 
up  chiefly  by  carbohydrates.  Fats  serve  the  same  purpose,  one 
pound  of  fat  being  equal  in  feeding  value  to  two  and  two  fifths 
pounds  of  carbohydrates.  More  of  this  class  of  food  is  required  to 
keep  the  body  at  the  proper  temperature  in  winter  than  in  summer, 
in  cold  countries  than  in  warm  ones.  In  winter  people  eat  more 
meat,  hogs  and  horses  more  corn,  because  these  are  car  bo  na'- 
ceous,  or  heat-supplying  foods.  When  animals  are  kept  in  warm 
stables  in  winter,  it  requires  less  food  to  keep  up  body  heat. 

Third:  Food  supplies  force  or  energy.  This  also  is  supplied 
largely  by  fats  and  carbohydrates.  Every  furrow  the  horse  plows, 
every  pound  it  pulls,  every  step  an  animal  takes  in  exercise  or  in 
search  of  food,  requires  energy.  Horses  at  hard  work  require 
more  food  than  those  at  light  work  and  much  more  than  those  that 
are  idle.  Even  on  larger  rations,  horses  are  apt  to  lose  flesh  during 
the  hard-working  spring  season. 

Fourth:  Food  supplies  material  for  growth  and  fattening.  Fat 
and  carbohydrates,  often  called  fat  formers,  form  fat  but  do  not 
build  up  tissue.     Young  growing  animals  and  animals  producing 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS  241 

milk  and  eggs  need  flesh  formers,  or  foods  containing  nitrogen. 
Fattening  animals  require  more  carbonaceous  foods.  The  smaller 
the  demand  for  heat  and  energy,  the  more  food  can  go  to  forming 
fat.  Therefore  it  is  more  economical  to  fatten  and  kill  hogs  before 
cold  weather  when  much  of  their  food  would  be  used  to  furnish 
heat.  It  is  wise  to  pen  fattening  hogs  and  to  confine  fattening  cattle 
in  stables  or  feed  lots  so  that  food  may  go  to  fat  instead  of  to 
energy. 

Kinds  of  Food.  — There  are  two  kinds  of  food  commonly  used 
for  stock,  bulky  foods  called  forage,  roughage,  or  fodders,  and  con- 
centrated foods  or  feeds. 

Forage.  — The  bulky  foods  most  commonly  used  are  hay, 
cornstalks,  straw,  silage,  roots,  and  tubers.  As  a  rule,  fodders 
are  rich  in  carbohydrates  and  poor  in  protein.  They  differ  greatly, 
however,  and  the  difference  is  due  not  only  to  the  kind  of  plant, 
but  also  to  soil,  time  of  cutting,  and  method  of  curing. 

Feeds.  —  Feeds  are  seeds  of  plants,  whole  or  ground,  and  their 
by-products.  Feeds  supply  protein,  fat,  and  carbohydrates,  and 
furnish  a  large  amount  of  nourishmeiit  in  small  bulk.  Grain — the 
seeds  of  cereals,  such  as  corn,  rye,  oats,  and  barley  —  is  largely  used 
for  feeds. 

Other  valuable  feeds  are  the  seeds  of  peas,  beans,  and  other 
legumes;  mill  feeds,  the  ground  grain  of  cereals;  bran  and  mid- 
dlings, the  germs  and  the  outer  coverings  of  grain;  cotton- seed 
meal,  left  from  the  manufacture  of  oil  from  cotton  seed;  linseed 
meal,  or  oil  meal,  left  from  the  manufacture  of  oil  from  flax- 
seed. 

Food  Value.  —  A  food  is  valuable  according  to  its  digestible 
value.  This  depends  to  a  great  extent  on  the  form  in  which  it  is 
fed.  The  fiber  of  cornstalks  and  other  coarse  fodders  resists  the 
digestive  fluids.    To  get  their  full  feeding  value,  these  should  be 


242  AGRICULTURE 

cut  or  crushed.  Some  seeds,  such  as  corn,  that  have  hard  shells 
have  their  food  value  increased  by  grinding. 

Scientists  raade  laboratory  tests  to  learn  the  chemical  value  of 
foods,  and  feeding  tests  to  learn  their  digestible  value.  They 
weighed  and  analyzed  the  food,  products,  and  manure  of  animals 
to  learn  how  much  food  was  digested.  Experiments  long  and 
carefully  conducted  enabled  them  to  prepare  tables  showing  the 
feeding  values  of  different  foods  and  fodders,  —  that  is,  their 
amount  of  digestible  protein,  fat,  carbohydrates,  and  ash.  A  table 
containing  a  statement  of  some  of  these  results  will  be  found  on 
page  309. 

Every  farmer  bears  practical  testimony  to  the  truth  of  these  tests 
by  the  different  prices  he  sets  on  different  feeds  and  fodders,  and 
the  way  he  feeds  and  buys  and  sells.  As  a  rule,  the  richer  a  food 
is  in  nitrogen  the  greater  its  value. 

Feeding  Standards.  —  Scientists  made  feeding  tests  also  to  learn 
the  amount  of  digestible  protein,  fat,  and  carbohydrates  that  are 
best  for  domestic  animals  under  average  conditions.  They 
studied  the  results  of  different  foods  and  different  amounts  on 
thousands  of  animals.  The  results  are  embodied  in  what  are  called 
'feeding  standards'  (see  page  309).  These  tell  the  proper  ration, 
or  one  day's  food,  for  an  animal  of  a  certain  weight  under  ordinary 
conditions. 

A  ration  conforming  to  this  standard  and  giving  the  proper 
amount  of  digestible  protein,  fat,  and  carbohydrates  is  called  a 
'balanced  ration.'  Feeding  standards  are  not  hard-and-fast  rules, 
for  there  are  differences  among  individuals,  but  they  are  good 
general  guides. 

As  you  have  learned,  food  has  a  twofold  value,  its  feeding  value 
and  its  manurial  value.  This  latter  subject  has  been  discussed  in 
the  chapter  on  Soil  Improvement. 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS  243 

Balanced  and  Unbalanced  Rations.  —  Practical  tests  show  that 
animals  generally  thrive  better  when  the  ration  is  properly  bal- 
anced. A  balanced  ration  is  more  economical  for  the  farmer  as 
well  as  better  for  the  animal;  there  is  always  waste  in  an  un- 
balanced one.  If,  for  instance,  an  animal  be  fed  a  ration  too  high 
in  carbohydrates  and  too  low  in  protein,  it  will  consume  more 
carbohydrates  than  it  needs  in  order  to  obtain  enough  protein. 

Sometimes  special  conditions,  such  as  the  feed  on  hand  and  mar- 
ket values,  make  it  necessary  or  desirable  for  the  farmer  to  feed 
an  unbalanced  ration.  This  should,  however,  be  guarded  against 
as  far  as  possible.  It  is  often  cheaper  to  sell  some  feeds  and  buy 
others  than  to  feed  unbalanced  rations.  Many  farmers  feed 
carbonaceous  foods,  especially  com,  in  wasteful  excess  ;  it  would 
be  better  to  sell  a  part  of  the  corn  and  purchase  some 
feed  richer  in  protein,  such  as  linseed  meal.  At  less  cost 
animals  would  thrive  better.  Hogs  fed  entirely  on  corn  meal 
sometimes  lose  the  use  of  their  legs  for  want  of  bone-forming  food. 

Food.  — The  amount  and  kind  of  food  to  be  given  differ  accord- 
ing to  the  purpose  of  feeding.  Usually,  food  is  given  to  animals 
not  merely  to  keep  them  alive  but  to  supply  energy  for  work,  to 
make  them  grow,  to  fatten  them  for  food  or  market,  to  provide 
products  such  as  milk  and  eggs. 

Rules  for  Feeding.  —  Here  are  some  rules  which  practical  farm- 
ers find  it  profitable  to  follow. 

First:  Animals  should  be  fed  as  much  as  they  will  eat  with 
relish  and  without  waste,  and  digest  well.  This  gives  best  re- 
turns in  growth,  fat,  and  products.  'Stinted  animals  are  usually 
stunted  ones.'  Overfeeding  is  injurious  as  well  as  wasteful.  Too 
much  unripe  grain,  green  rape,  cowpeas,  clover,  or  alfalfa  may 
cause  sickness  or  death. 

Second :    Animals  should  be  fed  a  balanced  ration  in  order  to 


244  AGRICULTURE 

supply  all  the  needs  of  their  systems.  Fat  and  carbohydrates  are 
needed  to  supply  heat  and  force,  fat  and  milk;  protein  to  form 
flesh,  to  build  up  waste  tissue  and  to  form  new. 

Third:  The  food  must  have  a  certain  bulk  adapted  to  the  size 
of  the  animal's  stomach  and  the  length  of  the  intestines.  Rumi- 
nants, such  as  the  cow  and  sheep,  need  two  thirds  bulky  food,  such 
as  hay  and  straw;  horses  need  half  fodder  and  half  grain;  pigs  and 
poultry  need  more  than  half  concentrated  food. 

Fourth:  Animals,  like  people,  need  variety  of  food.  Change  of 
rations  improves  appetite  and  digestion.  Decided  change  in  kind 
or  amount  of  food  should  be  made  gradually,  not  abruptly. 

Fifth:  Animals  should  be  fed  at  regular  hours.  Like  human 
beings,  they  thrive  better  when  their  meals  are  given  at  proper 
fixed  times. 

Raising  Feed.  —  As  a  rule,  a  farmer  should  raise  most  or  all  of 
his  own  fodders  and  feeds.  He  should  choose  productive  and 
nourishing  ones  which  are  suited  to  his  soil  and  climate  and  which 
supply  a  balanced  ration. 

Pasturing  and  Soiling.  —  Where  land  is  cheap  and  farmers  prac- 
tice the  extensive  system,  trying  to  cultivate  as  many  acres  as 
possible,  it  is  usual  to  graze  stock.  This  is  the  common  method  in 
the  South,  where,  with  a  little  attention,  fields  and  pastures  furnish 
stock  a  bountiful  living  three  hundred  out  of  three  hundred  and 
sixty-five  days  in  the  year.  It  is  also  the  rule  on  the  great  western 
ranges,  rich  in  nutritious  native  grasses. 

Where  land  values  are  high,  farmers  practice  the  intensive  sys- 
tem, trying  to  raise  as  large  crops  as  possible  on  each  acre.  There, 
soiling  is  preferred,  —  that  is,  animals  are  kept  in  sta^bles  or  yards 
and  fed  cut  forage. 

One  acre  in  soiling  crops  has  as  much  feeding  value  as  four  acres 
in  pasture.     A  fifteen-acre  dairy  farm  in  Pennsylvania  by  the  soil- 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS  245 

ing  system  for  years  supported  thirty  Jersey  cows,  two  to  the  acre. 
Grazing  animals  trample  and  destroy  more  than  they  eat.  The 
manure  is  unequally  distributed,  leaving  part  of  the  land  unfer- 
tilized and  causing  part  to  produce  rank  growth  which  stock  avoid. 
When  such  crops  as  alfalfa,  drilled  corn,  oats,  vetches,  rye,  and 
clovers  are  cut  and  fed  to  cattle,  their  full  value  is  utilized  as  food 
and  as  manure.  Cows  are  often  more  comfortable  in  good  stables 
than  in  pastures  where  flies  annoy  them. 

On  many  farms  there  are  woodland  or  meadow  pastures  unavail- 
able for  crops,  which  it  is  economical  to  use  for  pastures.  These 
will  often  be  found  more  profitable  when  supplemented  by  soiling 
crops. 

EXERCISE 

1.  Do  you  know  any  domestic  animal  that  is  fed  a  balanced  ration? 
an  unbalanced  one  ?     What  is  the  condition  of  each  ? 

2.  Name  three  stock  foods  rich  in  protein ;  three  rich  in  carbohydrates. 

3.  In  your  locality,  which  is  more  profitable,  pasturing  or  soiling? 
Give  reasons.  . 

CATTLE 

History.  —  Formerly  all  farm  animals  were  called  cattle.  Now 
the  term  is  applied  only  to  beef  and  dairy  breeds.  Our  tame  breeds 
are  descended  from  the  wild  cattle  of  Europe  and  Asia;  most  of  the 
improved  ones  have  been  developed  in  Great  Britain.  They  have 
had  their  milk  and  flesh  capacity  developed  by  food,  care,  and 
selection. 

Cattle  are  raised  chiefly  for  beef,  veal,  milk,  cream,  butter,  and 
cheese;  but  they  furnish  us  other  things.  Their  hides  are  valuable 
for  leather,  their  hair  for  plaster,  their  hoofs  for  glue,  their  bones 
for  buttons  and  fertilizers. 

Beef  and  Dairy  Breeds.  —  Cattle  may  be  divided  into  two  great 


LoRETTA  D— A  Dairy  Iyve 

A  pure-bred  Jersey;  the  champion  dairy  cow  at  the  St.  Louis  World's  Fair  in  1904.     Her 
record  for  120  days  was  5802.7  lb.  milk,  yielding  330.03  lb.  butter. 


Blackbird  24TH  — a  Beef  Type 

An  Aberdeen-Angus  cow,  weighing  1800  lb.,  champion  of  St.  Louis  World's 
Fair,  1904. 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS  247 

classes,  the  beef  breeds  used  chiefly  for  flesh  or  beef,  and  the  dairy 
breeds  raised  chiefly  for  the  production  of  milk,  butter,  and  cheese. 
The  two  types  differ  much  in  appearance. 

The  beef  breeds  are  large,  square-built,  compact,  and  broad- 
backed.  Their  food  goes  to  fat.  Among  the  principal  beef  breeds 
are  Shorthorn,  Hereford,  Galloway,  and  Aberdeen  or  Polled  Angus. 
The  raising  of  beef  cattle  is  one  of  the  chief  industries  on  the 
western  plains.  Vast  herds  thrive  on  natural  grasses  and  require 
Httle  care. 

Dairy  Cattle.  — The  dairy  breeds  are  small  and  wedge-shaped. 
They  have  little  flesh  on  the  back,  loins,  and  thighs,  but  the  hind 


Rear  and  Side  Views  of  Dairy  and  Beef  Cattle,  showing  Difference  in  Shape 

parts  are  deep  and  wide.  They  have  large  stomachs  and  udders 
with  large  many-branched  milk  veins.  Their  food  goes  to  milk. 
In  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States,  chiefly  dairy  breeds  arc 
kept. 

Dairy  cattle  are  subdivided  into  milk  breeds,  which  give  a  large 
quantity  of  milk,  and  butter  breeds,  which  yield  milk  rich  in  butter 
fat. 

Milk  Breeds.  —  Among  the  chief  milk  breeds  are  the  Ayrshire 
from  Scotland  and  the  Holstein-Frisian,  a  Dutch  breed. 

Butter  Breeds.  — The  best  butter  breeds  are  the  Jersey  and  the 
Guernsey,  which  originated  on  the  islands  of  the  same  name  in  the 
English  Channel.  Our  common  cattle  are  improved  in  butter- 
producing  qualities  by  a  cross  with  Jerseys  or  Guernseys. 


248  AGRICULTURE 

General-purpose  Breeds.  — There  are  some  breeds  called  gen- 
eral-purpose cattle,  which  are  valuable  for  both  milk  and  beef. 
Among  these  are  certain  strains  of  the  Shorthorn  or  Durham,  the 
Devon,  and  Red  Polled.  The  range  cattle  of  Texas  and  the  West 
have  been  graded  up  chiefly  with  the  Shorthorn  and  Hereford. 


RowENA  2xND— Dual-purpose  Cow 

A  pure-bred  Shorthorn,  champion  dual-purpose  cow  of  the  St.  Louis  World's  Fair  in  1904. 
Her  record  for  120  days  was  4053  lb.  milk,  yielding  201.13  lb.  butter:  during  that 
time -she  gained  139  lb.  in  weight 

Improving  '  Scrub'  Cattle.  —  Common  or  'scrub'  cattle,  as  a  rule, 
mature  slowly  and  give  less  flesh  and  milk  for  the  same  amount  of 
food  than  do  improved  breeds.  The  quickest  and  most  economical 
way  to  improve  a  herd  of  common  cattle  is  to  put  at  the  head  a  bull 
of  the  type  desired.  It  is  often  and  truly  said,  ''the  sire  is  half 
the  herd."  Some  breeds,  such  as  the  Shorthorn,  transmit  their 
good  qualities  with  especial  strength  and  certainty. 

Dairy  Products.  —  Dairy  products  are  milk,  cream,  butter,  and 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS 


249 


cheese;  the  by-products  are  skim  milk,  buttermilk,  and  whey. 
Milk  is  a  fluid  formed  in  the  glands  of  the  cow's  udder.  It  is  an 
ideal  food,  containing  in  readily  digestible  form  water  for  thirst, 
ash  to  make  bones,  protein  to  form  flesh  and  muscle,  and  fat  and 
sugar  to  supply  heat  and  energy. 

The  globules  of  fat  are  light  and  rise  to  the  surface,  forming 
cream.    These  globules   vary   in   size.     They  are   large   in  the 


A,  Pure  Milk,  and  B,  Impure  Milk,  as  seen  under  the  Microscope 

A  shows  fat  globules ;    B  shows  globules  and  also  many  forms  of  bacteria.     B  stood  sev- 
eral hours  in  a  warm  room  in  a  dirty  dish. 

milk  of  the  butter  breeds  and  small  in  that  of  the  cheese 
breeds. 

Bacteria,  always  present  in  the  air,  grow  in  milk  and  change 
its  sugar  to  an  acid  which  gives  it  a  sour  taste.  Where  strict 
cleanliness  is  observed,  there  are  fewer  bacteria  and  milk  does 
not  sour  so  quickly.  Souring,  or  turning,  of  milk  is  retarded  also 
by  keeping  it  cool,  as  bacteria  thrive  in  warmth.  Cooling  milk 
does  not  destroy  the  germs  but  only  checks  their  action. 

Skim  milk  and  buttermilk,  from  which  fat  has  been  removed, 
and  whey,  left  from  the  manufacture  of  cheese,  are  wholesome  and 


250  AGRICULTURE 

nourishing  foods  for  human  beings  and  for  live  stock,  especially 
pigs,  calves,  and  poultry. 

The  profitableness  of  a  dairy  cow  depends  on  the  quality  and 
quantity  of  her  milk.  The  amount  of  butter  fat  in  milk  can  be 
determined  exactly  by  the  Babcock  milk  tester,  a  simple  machine 
invented  by  Dr.  S.  M.  Babcock  of  Wisconsin,  which  is  used  by 
dairymen  all  over  the  country. 

On  dairy  farms  the  cream  is  taken  from  the  milk  by  a  machine 
called  a  separator  which  does  the  work  better  and  more  quickly 
than  it  can  be  done  by  hand.  The  cost  of  separators  often  pre- 
vents their  being  used  on  small  farms,  and  there  the  milk  is  set  in 
pans  for  the  cream  to  rise. 

After  the  cream  ripens  or  sours,  it  is  churned,  to  collect  the  butter 
fat  in  compact  shape.  The  proper  temperature  for  cream  for 
churning  is  from  58°  to  62°.  If  it  is  too  warm,  ice  or  cold  water 
should  be  added  to  bring  it  to  the  proper  temperature ;  if  it  is  too 
cold,  it  should  be  warmed  by  placing  the  can  containing  it  in  a 
larger  vessel  containing  hot  water.  The  butter  must  be  washed 
with  cold  water  to  harden  it,  and  then  salted  with  fine  dairy 
salt. 

The  process  of  making  good  butter  ends  with  churning,  but  it 
begins  with  the  care  of  the  cow,  milk,  and  cream.  The  cow's 
food  affects  the  color,  flavor,  and  texture  of  the  butter.  Most  of 
the  bacteria  are  destroyed  in  butter,  probably  by  the  salt.  Some 
remain,  and  it  is  the  action  of  these  which  makes  it  become  rancid 
with  age. 

The  production  of  cheese  is  much  more  complicated  than  that 
of  butter.     It  is  attended  to  chiefly  in  cheese  factories. 

Care  of  the  Cow.  — The  cow  should  have  an  abundance  of  pure 
water,  salt  always  in  reach,  and  plenty  of  good  wholesome  food. 
Like  all  other  animals,  she  needs  a  balanced  ration.     An  average 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS  25 1 

COW  should  have  six  times  as  much  carbohydrates  as  protein.  This 
is  usually  expressed  in  the  form  of  a  ratio,  one  to  six,  or  i  :  6,  called 
the  'nu'tritive  ratio.' 

As  a  cow's  stomach  is  large,  she  needs  much  bulky  food,  about 
twenty-seven  pounds  of  dry  matter  in  a  ration.  In  winter  she 
should  have  good  hay,  and  in  summer  soiling  or  pasturage  should 
provide  green  forage.  Turnips  and  other  root  crops  should  be 
fed  chopped  or  sliced.  They  should  be  given  directly  after  milk- 
ing so  as  not  to  injure  the  flavor  of  the  milk. 

Filth  injures  the  quality  of  all  dairy  products.  Cleanliness, 
fresh  air,  dryness,  and  sunshine  kill  bacteria  which  injure  the 
health  of  the  cow  and  affect  her  products.  The  stable  should  be 
clean,  comfortable,  and  well  ventilated.  The  cow's  udder  and  the 
body  near  it  should  be  washed,  and  milking  should  be  done  with 
clean  dry  hands. 

Milk  should  never  be  left  standing  in  a  stable  or  milkroom,  where 
the  air  is  impure.  It  readily  absorbs  flavors  and  should  not  be 
kept  near  cabbage,  onions,  or  any  other  highly- flavored  foods. 
All  vessels  used  about  milk  should  be  washed  in  cold  water  and 
then  scalded  with  boiling  water.  They  should  often  be  sunned 
and  aired.     '  Cleanliness  should  be  the  watchword  of  the  dairy.' 

The  cow  should  be  fed  and  milked  at  regular  hours  and  always 
treated  with  kindness.  She  is  a  nervous  animal,  and  tests  show 
that  the  quality  and  quantity  of  her  milk  are  injured  by  rough, 
harsh  treatment.  ' 

Diseases.  Tuberculosis.  —  The  most  common  and  dangerous  dis- 
ease of  dairy  cattle  is  tu  ber  cu  lo'sis.  It  is  caused  by  bacteria  in 
the  affected  part  of  the  body ;  these  form  tubercles,  swollen  masses 
of  tissue,  which  finally  break  down  into  a  cheesy  mass.  Some 
scientists  say  that  the  disease  can  be  communicated  to  human 
beings  from  the  milk  and  the  flesh  of  diseased  animals.     By  boiling 


252 


AGRICULTURE 


the  milk  or  flesh,  the  harmful  bacteria  are  destroyed;  The  ten- 
dency to  tuberculosis  is  increased  by  anything  that  weakens  the 
general  health  of  the  animal,  such  as  overcrowding  in  foul,  badly- 
aired  stables,  feeding  bad  food,  and  overproduction  of  milk  and 
young.    The  disease  is  contagious,  and  animals  affected  with  it 


"^^''^iiiS^ 


Shorthorn  Steers 

The  steers  in  this  car-load  lot  averaged  1544  lb.  in  weight;   tliey  were  prize  winners  at  a 
Texas  Fat  Stock  Show. 


should  never  be  kept  in  a  stable  or  herd  with  healthy  ones.     Badly 
diseased  cattle  should  be  killed. 

Tick  Fever.  — Tick,  or  Texas,  fever,  prevails  south  of  Maryland 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  It  is  caused  by  a  parasite,  con- 
veyed by  cattle  ticks,  which  are  parasites  of  the  southern  United 
States.  A  tick  cannot  mature  except  on  an  animal.  It  fixes  itself 
on  the  skin  of  cattle  at  pasture;  when  full-grown,  it  drops  off  and 
lays  its  eggs  —  fifteen  to  twenty-five  hundred — on  the  grass.  If  the 
young  ticks  which  hatch  out  fail  to  fix  themselves  on  animals,  they 
die  in  a  few  months. 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS  253 

Southern  cattle  are  rendered  im  mune',  or  not  subject  to  the 
disease,  by  being  exposed  when  young;  but  the  fever  kills  during 
the  first  summer  most  of  the  mature  cattle  carried  from  northern 
to  southern  states.  It  is  communicated  by  ticks  dropped  from 
southern  cattle  carried  north  in  the  summer.  Healthy  herds 
sicken  and  die  if  driven  across  the  trail  where  infested  herds 
passed  one,  two,  or  three  months  before. 

Tick  fever  is  a  serious  drawback  to  introducing  improved 
breeds  in  the  South  and  has  caused  strict  laws  to  be  passed  about 
the  summer  marketing  of  southern  cattle.  The  fever  can  be  pre- 
vented by  cleaning  cattle  and  pastures  of  ticks.  They  can  be 
removed  from  cattle  by  the  use  of  kerosene  and  other  oils.  Pas- 
tures can  be  cleaned  by  keeping  cattle  off  an  infected  field  for 
several  months,  usually  from  the  first  of  April  till  the  first  of 
September. 

Cattle  are  inoculated  against  tick  fever,  just  as  people  are  against 
smallpox. 

EXERCISE 

1.  Are  the  cattle  of  your  locality  chiefly  beef  or  dairy  breeds  ?  Name 
three  points  in  proof  of  your  statement.  What  breeds  are  most  profit- 
able in  your  section?    Why? 

2.  Make  a  balanced  ration  for  a  dairy  cow,  using  corn,  fodder,  alfalfa, 
and  cotton-seed  meal. 

3.  A  farmer  raises  corn  and  timothy  hay.  What  should  he  sell  and 
what  buy  in  order  to  furnish  balanced  rations  for  dairy  cattle  ? 

4.  Take  two  milk  bottles;  wash  and  scald  one  and  cool  it  with  pure 
water;  rinse  the  other  out  with  sour  milk.  Put  sweet  milk  in  both  and 
seal  them.  Open  and  examine  at  regular  intervals.  In  which  bottle 
does  milk  sour  first  ?    Why  ? 


254 


AGRICULTURE 


HORSES 


History.  —  Our  horses  are  descended  from  wild  horses,  such  as 
are  found  to-day  in  many  parts  of  the  world.  They  have  been 
improved  by  care,  food,  and  selection  for  over  three  thousand 
years,  and  have  been  trained  to  artificial  gaits,  such  as  the  trot  and 


Baron  Doune,  a  Pure-bred  Clydesdale 
A  good  type  of  draft  horse,  weighing  about  2000  lb. 

pace.  Their  natural  gaits  are  the  walk  and  the  gallop.  Horses 
are  not  natives  of  America.  Our  wild  ones  are  descended  from 
those  brought  over  by  the  Spanish  and  French  discoverers. 

Classes.  — There  are  many  breeds  of  horses,  but  they  may  be 
roughly  divided  into  two  classes :  draft  horses,  the  heavy  horses 
used  for  farm  work  and  hauling ;  and  light  horses,  or  roadsters,  used 
for  riding  and  driving. 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS 


255 


Draft  Horses.  —  Draft  horses  are  large,  usually  weighing  from 
fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  pounds.  They  have  broad  backs, 
short  legs,  and  upright  shoulders  that  give  an  easy  support  to  the 
collar.  The  best  breeds  of  draft  horses  have  been  developed  in 
Belgium,    France,    England,    and    Scotland.    Two    well-known 


Ornament,  a  Kentucky  Thoroughbred 
Selected  by  Kentucky  horsemen  as  a  type  of  the  breed 


breeds  are  the  Percheron  from  France,  and  the  Clydesdale  from 
Scotland. 

Light  Horses.  — Light  horses,  or  roadsters,  are  much  smaller  than 
draft  horses.  They  are  light  of  bone  and  muscle,  have  long  legs, 
long  thin  necks,  and  sloping  shoulders.  Thoroughbreds,  the 
English  running  horses,  are  descended  from  the  Arabian  steeds 
which  are  noted  for  speed,  courage,  endurance,  and  intelligence. 

The  trotting  horse  developed  in  America  is  not  recognized  as  a 


256  AGRICULTURE 

distinct  breed,  but  is  better  known  than  most  pure  breeds.  The 
saddle  horses  of  Kentucky  and  Virginia  are  well  known.  Among 
the  best  carriage  or  coach  horses  are  the  Cleveland  Bay,  the  French 
Coach,  and  the  English  Hackney.  Hackneys  are  large,  active,  and 
stylish,  adapted  to  both  road  and  farm  work.  Small  horses  are  not 
adapted  to  the  deep  plowing,  hard  pulling,  and  heavy  hauling  of 
the  farm. 

Pure-bred  sires  imprpve  common  stock.  It  is  profitable  to  breed 
and  use  good  grades. 

Ponies.  —  Ponies  are  breeds  of  small  horses.  The  gentle,  shaggy, 
little  Shetland  ponies  from  the  Shetland  Islands  off  the  west  coast 
of  Scotland  are  favorites  with  children.  The  Indian  ponies  and 
mustangs  of  the  West,  North,  and  South  are  descended  from  the 
horses  brought  to  this  country  from  Spain  and  France.  They  are 
active,  hardy,  and  much  prized  as  saddle  horses. 

Mules.  — Mules,  a  cross  between  the  horse  and  the  ass,  are  noted 
for  strength,  endurance,  and  hardiness.  They  arc  valuable  for 
farm  purposes  and  for  heavy  hauling. 

Food.  —  Grass  is  the  natural  food  of  the  horse,  but  an  entire 
diet  of  it  makes  a  horse  'soft'  and  unfit  for  hard  work.  The  best 
foods  are  good  hay,  oats,  and  corn.  A  horse  needs  about  twenty 
pounds  of  dry  matter  daily;  half  of  the  food  should  be  a  concen- 
trated feed,  such  as  corn,  and  half  a  bulky  food,  such  as  hay. 

A  horse  needs  about  eight  gallons  of  water  a  day  and  should  be 
watered  three  times  a  day,  before  meals.  At  work  in  warm 
weather,  horses,  like  people,  need  water  oftener,  but  are  apt  to  be 
injured  by  drinking  much  cold  water  when  they  are  very  warm. 

Care.  — The  horse  should  be  given  clean,  comfortable  quar- 
ters, gentle,  firm  management,  and  good  feed.  Good  treatment 
will  do  much  to  give  horses  a  good  disposition.  They  are  nervous 
animals,  and  rough,  harsh  treatment  makes  them  vicious  and 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS  257 

unreliable.  Good  grooming  keeps  the  pores  of  the  skin  open  and 
the  hair  glossy  and  in  good  condition. 

Probably  no  animal  suffers  so  much  from  the  cruelty,  neglect,  and 
ignorance  of  its  owner  as  does  the  horse.  It  is  often  driven, 
worked,  and  fed  with  httle  judgment,  its  health  injured,  and  its 
period  of  usefulness  is  lessened  or  cut  short  by  neglect  and  mis- 
management. Bad  treatment  does  not  stop  here.  It  is  often 
subjected  to  mutilation  which  injures  it  permanently. 

Shoeing.  —  Probably  the  most  frequent  and  serious  injury 
comes  from  bad  shoeing.  There  is  an  old  saying,  "No  foot  no 
horse."  The  general  purpose  of  shoeing  is  to  preserve  the  exposed 
hoof  from  wear.  Farm  horses  and  horses  not  compelled  to  do 
heavy  work  on  hard  roads  would  be  better  off  if  never  shod  at  all. 
When  they  are  shod,  the  hoof  loses  its  natural  moisture.  The  horse 
is  apt  to  go  lame  if  the  shoes  are  removed,  unless  it  is  kept  in  pas- 
ture until  the  hoof  regains  its  natural  condition. 

The  frog  is  a  natural  cushion  of  gristle  to  lessen  the  shock  of 
travel.  It  should  never  be  trimmed  nor  touched  with  the  knife. 
The  horny  wall  should  be  interfered  with  as  little  as  possible.  The 
outside  is  covered  with  a  natural  varnish  which  should  never  be 
cut  nor  rasped  off.  Only  the  portion  of  the  wall  and  sole  on  which 
the  shoe  rests  should  be  touched.  From  this  should  be  trimmed  or 
rasped  the  portion  which  the  shoe  prevents  from  wearing  off  as  it 
would  naturally  do  on  the  unshod  hoof.  The  hoof  should  be  lev- 
elled carefully  and  the  shoe  made  to  fit  the  foot,  not,  as  is 
too  often  done  by  ignorant  blacksmiths,  the  foot  made  to  fit  the 
shoe. 

Checkrein.  —  A  checkrein  is  a  discomfort  and  disadvantage  to 
a  horse.  Think  how  uncomfortable  it  would  be  for  you  to  have 
your  head  fastened  up  in  the  same  position  for  hours  at  a  time! 
The  checkrein  deprives  the  horse  of  the  power  of  throwing  its 


258  AGRICULTURE 

weight  forward  to  pull  a  load.  If  a  checkrein  be  used  at  all,  it 
should  not  be  tight,  and  it  should  be  let  down  in  pulling  a  heavy 
load  or  going  uphill. 

Docking. — The  horse's  tail  should  never  be  docked.  This  is 
its  fly  brush  and  protection  against  enemies.  When  it  is  docked, 
the  horse  is  made  *a  life  pasture  for  annoying  insects.' 

EXERCISE 

1.  Have  you  read  ''Black  Beauty"?  If  not,  do  so.  It  is  an  in- 
teresting story  of  horse  life,  giving  valuable  suggestions  as  to  care  and 
treatment. 

2.  Compare  the  best  draft  horse  with  the  best  light  horse  that  you 
know.  Make  a  list  of  the  points  of  difference.  Name  three  occasions 
on  which  you  would  prefer  the  light  horse.  Why?  Name  three  on 
which  you  would  prefer  the  draft  horse.     Why? 

3.  From  the  table  on  page  309  in  the  appendix  make  a  balanced 
ration  for  a  work  horse  weighing  fifteen  hundred  pounds. 

SHEEP 

History.  — There  are  many  wild  species  of  sheep  in  Asia,  Africa, 
Europe,  and  on  the  western  mountain  ranges  of  America.  The 
sheep  was  probably  the  first  animal  domesticated  by  man.  A 
European  species,  the  Merino,  was  brought  by  the  Spaniards  to 
the  New  World  soon  after  its  discovery.  From  this  Spanish  breed 
is  descended  most  of  the  flocks  of  Mexico,  New  Mexico,  and  Texas. 

Sheep  are  natives  of  mountainous  countries  and  do  best  on 
hilly  land.  They  never  by  choice  seek  level,  open  land,  swampy 
country,  nor  dense  forests. 

Uses.  — The  animal  is  useful  in  many  ways.  Its  flesh  fur- 
nishes food,  its  fleece  clothing,  its  skin  leather,  its  bones  fertilizers. 

Sheep  Raising.  —  Sheep  are  docile  and  easily  managed,  require 
little  care  and  attention,  and  need  less  grain  than  other  kinds  of 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS 


259 


live  stock.  Sheep  feed  chiefly  on  pasture,  largely  on  weeds,  and 
they  improve  the  land  on  which  they  feed.  They  increase  rapidly 
and  mature  earlj-.  They  cost  less  to  raise  than  cattle,  and  their 
flesh  brings  a  higher  price,  and  the  fleece  is  clear  profit.    There 


Courtesy  of  Louisiana  Agricultural  Station 

Grade  Lamb  and  Scrub  Lamb 

These  two  lambs  are  the  same  age ;  they  were  raised  together,  and  given  the  same 
treatment  and  food. 

is  always  ready  sale  for  lamb,  mutton,  and  wool,  and  the  price 
varies  less  than  that  of  most  other  farm  products. 

Every  year  there  are  imported  into  the  United  States  half  a  mil- 
lion dollars'  worth  of  mutton  and  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  million 
dollars'  worth  of  wool,  all  of  which  might  be  produced  at  home. 
American  farmers  would  not  only  reap  the  profits  which  now  go 
abroad,  but  their  land  would  be  improved. 

No  farm  product  makes  so  little  demand  on  soil  fertility  as  does 


26o 


AGRICULTURE 


9 

HKr  5#;iPP*'  ;;»^^^:^-"  «^    :  ■  t^ 

! 

B 

Merino  Siiei:i'  — a  \\'on\.  r\  I'l: 
Grand  champion  of  St.  Louis  World's  Fair,  1904 


wool.    The  sale  of  a  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  corn  takes  about 
three  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  fertility  from  the  land,  the  sale  of 

an  equal  value  of  mutton 
takes  about  fifty  dollars  from 
the  land,  and  of  wool  only 
three  or  four  dollars. 

Breeds.  —  While  all  breeds 
furnish  both  wool  and  mut- 
ton, sheep  are  usually  divided 
into  wool  breeds  and  mutton 
breeds,  according  to  their 
chief  purpose. 

Wool  Breed.  —  The  best- 
known  wool  breed  is  the  Me- 
rino sheep.  It  is  a  native  of  Spain,  is  hardy,  well  adapted  to  warm 
climates,  and  is  the  only 
breed  which  is  not  subject  to 
disease  when  kept  in  large 
fiocks.  The  flocks  of  the 
southwestern  states  are  de- 
scended from  them.  More 
than  half  the  sheep  of  the 
United  States  are  raised  in 
the  section  west  of  the  one 
hundredth  meridian,  known 
as  'the  Range,'  where  they 
flourish  on  native  grasses. 

Mutton   Breeds. — The 
sheep  raised  in  the  eastern 
states  are  chiefly  English  mutton  breeds.    The  most  hardy  and 
prolific  of  these  and  the  most  popular  in  the  United  States  are 


Leicester  Sheep  — a  Mutton  Tvpe 

Grand  champion  of  St.  Louis  World's  Fair,  1904  ; 

weight,  420  lb. ;   fleece  record,  26  lb. 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS  261 

what  are  called  the  'down'  breeds,  the  Southdown,  Shropshire, 
Hampshire,  and  Oxfordshire.  They  have  wool  of  medium  fine- 
ness. The  Southdown  is  more  extensively  raised  in  the  United 
States  than  any  other  breed  except  the  Merino.  It  is  smaller,  but 
hardier  and  more  prolific  than  the  other  'down'  breeds.  The 
Dorset  is  valued  chiefly  for  the  production  of  early  lambs. 

The  long-wooled  mutton  breeds  are  the  Leicester,  Lincoln,  and 
Cotswold. 

Care  of  Sheep.  —  Where  there  are  cheap  lands,  natural  grasses, 
and  open  mild  winters,  sheep  can  be  raised  without  costing  their 
owner  anything  except  for  an  occasional  salting  and  the  shearing. 
It  is  not,  however,  a  good  plan  to  raise  any  animal  to  see  how  much 
neglect  it  will  bear.  It  should  be  given  conditions  and  care  to  pro- 
duce best  results. 

Sheep  should  be  protected  against  dogs.  They  should  have 
shelter,  such  as  well-littered  sheds  on  sunny  slopes,  protected  from 
cold,  wind,  and  rain.  Sheep  cannot  bear  close  confinement  or 
crowding.  They  need  well-drained  pasture ;  on  marshy  land  they 
are  subject  to  disease.  They  should  have  pure  water,  and  be  salted 
regularly.  It  is  well  to  keep  in  a  shed  to  which  they  have  access  a 
trough  containing  pulverized  charcoal,  ashes,  salt,  and  sulphur. 

By  nature  sheep  are  timid  and  nervous.  They  need  quiet 
handling  and  gentle  treatment.  A  rough,  harsh,  careless,  or  im- 
patient master  rarely  reaps  profit  from  them. 

Diseases.  Fly. — The  diseases  to  which  they  are  most  subject 
are  fly,  foot  rot,  and  scab.  The  first  is  caused  by  a  fly,  the  mag- 
gots of  which  should  be  killed  before  they  eat  their  way  into  the 
body.  The  sheep  should  be  smeared  with  tar  or  a  carbolic  acid 
ointment. 

Foot  rot.  —  Foot  rot  is  caused  by  a  parasite  which  must  be  cut 
out;  to  the  wound  should  be  applied  carbolic  acid  ointment. 


262  AGRICULTURE 

Scab.  —  Scab  is  a  contagious  disease  caused  by  a  parasite  which 
gets  under  the  skin.  It  causes  the  wool  to  fall  and  not  only  ruins 
the  fleece  but  often  weakens  and  kills  the  sheep.  The  parasite 
is  killed  by  dipping  the  sheep  in  a  wash  containing  sulphur,  to- 
bacco, or  lime  and  sulphur.  Sheep  should  be  dipped  at  least  once 
a  year  to  keep  their  skins  clean  and  healthy. 

EXERCISE 

1.  Do  the  farmers  in  your  locality  raise  sheep?  Do  you  think  it 
would  be  a  profitable  business?    Give  reasons  for  your  opinion. 

2.  Why  do  sheep  especially  need  protection  against  wet  weather? 

3.  At  what  season  are  they  sheared  and  why  ? 


GOATS 

Goat  Raising.  — Goat  raising  is  a  new  and  growing  branch  of 
stock  raising  in  the  United  States.  There  are  now  about  two 
million  goats  in  the  country.  Every  year  about  twenty  million  goat 
skins  —  worth  about  twenty-five  miUion  dollars  —  are  imported 
into  the  United  States  from  India,  China,  Russia,  and  other  coun- 
tries. The  leather  is  used  for  making  gloves,  shoes,  and  other 
articles. 

Breeds.  — The  Malta  goats  are  especially  prized  for  their  milk; 
it  is  richer,  more  nourishing,  and  more  wholesome  than  cowl's  milk. 
From  goat's  milk  some  of  our  best  cheese  is  made. 

The  goat  most  favored  by  American  farmers  is  the  Angora.  Its 
native  place  is  the  province  of  Angora  in  Turkey.  Some  peculiar 
property  of  the  atmosphere  there  makes  the  coats  of  animals,  such 
as  cats,  dogs,  and  goats,  especially  beautiful,  long,  soft,  and  silky. 
The  fleece  of  the  Angora  goat,  called  mohair,  is  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  fine  fabrics. 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS 


263 


Habits.  —  Goats  are  browsers  by  nature,  and  live  on  weeds  and 
brush  where  most  other  animals  would  starve.  They  pass  by  grass 
and  clover  to  fee'd  on  thistles,  briers,  and  thorns,  which  other  stock 
will  not  touch.  They  kill  weeds  and  brush,  and  give  native  grasses 
a  chance  to  spread,  fertilized  by  their  manure. 


Angora  Goats 

Food  and  Care.  —  Except  in  winter,  when  they  should  be  given 
a  little  sheaf  oats,  corn  fodder,  or  good  hay,  goats  find  their  own 
food.  They  should  have  salt  once  a  week  the  year  round.  Their 
heavy  fleece  should  be  sheared  early  in  spring. 

Goats  are  hardy,  easily  managed,  and  free  from  disease  except 
when  confined  to  low,  marshy  places.  They  are  as  profitable  as 
sheep  and  less  expensive,  being  also  free  from  most  diseases  to 
which  sheep  are  subject. 


EXERCISE 


Name  three  points  in  favor  of  goat  keeping.    Can  you  think  of  any 
objections  to  it  ? 


264 


AGRICULTURE 


HOGS 


History.  —  Our  domesticated  hogs  are  descended  from  the 
wild  swine  native  to  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa.    These  wild  beasts 

are  lean  and  scraggy,  active  and 
fierce.  They  live  in  swamps, 
jungles,  and  forests,  and  feed  on 
vegetable  and  animal  food.  The 
wild  hog  was  probably  first  domes- 
ticated in  China.  Through  thou- 
sands of  years  of  care,  various 
breeds  have  been  developed  there 
which  are  "bladders  of  lard  and 
fat."  Hogs  are  now  raised  in 
almost  every  region  outside  the 
Arctic  Circle. 

American  and  English  Breeds.  — 
Several  breeds  have  been  developed 
in  the  United  States,  which,  like 
those  of  China,  have  much  fat  and 
little  lean.  The  best-known  Amer- 
ican breeds  are  the  Chester  White, 
Poland  China,  and  Duroc  Jersey 
or  Jersey  Red. 

The  English  improved  breeds  are  descended  from  the  native 
old  English  hog  with  foreign  crosses.  They  are  what  are  called 
bacon  breeds,  having  longer  bodies  and  legs  and  giving  a  larger 
proportion  of  lean  meat  than  the  Chinese  and  American  hogs. 
Among  the  best-known  English  breeds  are  the  Yorkshire,  Berk- 
shire, Tamworth,  and  Essex. 


Scrub  Hog 

At  two  years  old,  it  weighs  50  lb.     Does 
it  pay  to  raise  such  stock  ? 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS 


265 


Hog  Feeding.  —In  the  United  States  hogs  are  raised  largely  in  the 
corn  belt  from  Ohio  to  Kansas.  There  they  are  called  '  mortgage 
lifters '  because  farmers  who  became  poor  raising  corn  for  market 
got  out  of  debt  and  prospered  when  they  fed  the  cheap  and  abun- 
dant corn  to  hogs  and  sold  meat  instead  of  grain.  Corn-fed  hogs 
are  fat  and  lardy,  and  are  often  disposed  to  disease. 

Hogs  grow  faster  and  are  healthier  when  carried  through  the 
summer  on  green  food,  such  as  grass,  clover,  pea  vines,  and  alfalfa. 


Berkshire  Hogs 
A  prize-winning  herd  of  four,  weighing  2700  lb. 

with  a  small  ration  of  grain,  and  then  are  fattened  largely  on  ce- 
reals, such  as  oats  and  corn.  Recent  feeding  experiments  show 
that  they  make  larger  and  cheaper  gains  in  winter  when  fed  some 
bulky  food,  such  as  clover  or  alfalfa  hay,  in  addition  to  their  grain 
ration.  For  some  unknown  reason,  cotton- seed  meal,  on  which 
cattle  thrive,  is  usually  fatal  to  pigs,  if  fed  any  length  of  time. 

It  is  often  profitable  to  plant  lots  in  sweet  potatoes,  peanuts,  and 
other  crops  to  be  harvested  by  the  hogs  themselves. 

Hogs  are  gross  feeders,  and  are  more  prolific  than  any  other 
domesticated  animal,  except  the  rabbit.     Hog  flesh  can  be  more 


266 


AGRICULTURE 


cheaply  produced  than  any  other  meat.  Hogs  gain  a  pound  in 
weight  for  four  or  five  pounds  of  dry  food,  sheep  gain  one  for  nine, 
and  cattle  one  for  twelve. 

Disease.  —  Hogs  are  easy  to  keep  well  and  are  hard  to  cure  when 
sick.  If  kept  in  dry,  clean,  well-ventilated  quarters,  supplied  with 
plenty  of  pure  water,  and  properly  fed,  they  are  apt  to  be  healthy. 


Hogs  hurdlkd  on  Cowpeas 
By  use  of  hurdles,  or  movable  fences,  this  field  is  grazed  a  part  at  a  time. 


The  most  serious  and  fatal  disease  to  which  they  are  subject 
is  cholera.  This  is  contagious,  and  the  bacteria  which  cause  it 
may  be  carried  by  persons,  animals,  and  streams.  A  stream  which 
has  its  source  outside  the  hog  lot  is  a  constant  source  of  danger  and 
a  frequent  source  of  infection.  Few  hogs  recover  from  cholera 
and  the  treatment  must  be  largely  preventive.  A  mixture  of  salt, 
sulphur,  and  hardwood  ashes  should  be  kept  in  a  trough  in  a  shed 
to  which  hogs  have  access.     Well  and  sick  animals  should  be  kept 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS 


267 


separate,  and  all  pens  should  be  disinfected  with  lime  and  car- 
bolic acid  washes. 

Profitable  Breeds.  —The  most  profitable  breeds  for  the  farmer 
are  those  which  are  prolific,  vigorous,  and  of  good  disposition, 
which  mature  early,  and  thrive  on  feeds  easily  available.  Black 
hogs  are  generally  preferred  in  the  South  as  they  are  thought 
to  bear  heat 
better. 

Earliness  of 
maturity  is  one 
of  the  advan- 
tages of  good 
breeds.  It  takes 
two  years  to  get 


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A  section  of  a  hurdle,  showing  how  it  is  fitted  together, 
made  of  stout  lumber  and  wire  fencing. 


It  is 


a  'scrub'  or  common  hog  to  the  weight  to  which  an  improved 
breed  can  be  brought  in  nine  months  on  the  same  feed.  It 
must  always  be  remembered,  however,  that  breeds  improved  by 
care  need  care  to  keep  up  their  good  points.  They  cannot  shift 
for  themselves,  like  the  'razor  back'  and  the  prairie  ranger. 

There  is  more  profit  in  spring  pigs  pushed  and  killed  in  the  fall 
than  in  those  kept  through  the  winter.  It  takes  more  food  to  keep 
and  fatten  hogs  in  cold  weather.  Moreover,  with  age  and  size  the 
cost  of  keeping  increases  more  rapidly  than  flesh.  It  is  most 
profitable  to  sell  a  hog  at  two  hundred  or  two  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds,  as  each  additional  hundred  pounds  takes  about  twenty- 
four  per  cent  more  food. 


EXERCISE 

I.  Why  is  it  usually  profitable  to  keep  hogs  on  a  farm?  Can  you 
think  of  ways  in  which  the  business  may  be  managed  so  as  to  make  it 
unprofitable  ? 


268 


AGRICULTURE 


%.  Name  three  points  in  favor  of  improved  breeds;  one  in  favor  of 
'scrubs.' 

3.  Consult  the  table  on  page  309  and  make  up  a  balanced  ration  for 
fattening  hogs,  using  feeds  that  can  be  grown  in  your  locality. 


White  Leghorns  — an  Egg  Breed 


POULTRY 

Poultry.  —  Poultry  includes  all  fowls   domesticated   for   meat 
and  for  eggs  and  feathers,  such  as  hens,  turkeys,  guinea  fov^ls, 

peafov^ls,     ducks,    geese,    and 
pigeons. 

Hens.  —  Our  domesticated 
hens  are  descended  from  the 
wild  jungle  fowls  of  India. 
They  have  been  improved  by 
centuries  of  care  and  selection 
so  as  to  bring  out  the  desired 
traits.  The  yearly  value  of 
their  products  is  enormous.  The  American  wheat  crop  in  1905 
was  worth  five  hundred  and 
twenty-five  million  dollars ;  Ameri- 
can poultry  products  that  year 
were  worth  over  five  hundred  mil- 
lion dollars. 

Pure  breeds  are  usually  more 
profitable  than  common  breeds 
which  eat  as  much  and  pro- 
duce less.  There  are  two  great 
classes,  —  the  Mediterranean,  or 
egg-producing  breeds,  and  the  Asiatic,  or  meat  breeds. 

Egg  Breeds.  — The  chief  egg  breeds  are  the  Leghorns,  Houdans, 
Minorcas,  and  Spanish. 


Barred  Plymouth  Rocks— a 
General-purpose  Breed 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS 


269 


White  Brahmas  — a  Meat  Breed 


Meat  Breeds.  —  Of  the  large  meat  breeds,  the  most  popular  are 
the  Brahmas  from  India,  the  Cochins  and  Langshans  from  China, 
and  the  Games.  These  are  all. poor  or  fair  layers,  and  good 
sitters.  The  light  Brahmas 
are  the  largest;  a  hen  of 
that  breed  weighs  nine  and  a 
half  pounds,  a  cock,  twelve 
pounds. 

General-Purpose  Breeds.  — 
The  Orpingtons,  the  Plymouth 
Rocks,  the  Wyandottes,  and 
the  Rhode  Island  Reds  are 
general-purpose  fowls.  They 
are  good  layers,  good  sitters, 

and  supply  abundance  of  good  meat.  The  Plymouth  Rocks, 
Barred,  White,  and  Buff,  are  the  breeds  most  widely  raised  in 
America. 

Ducks.  —  Ducks  mature  early  and  furnish  good  meat.  They 
are  freer  from  disease  than  hens  and  grow  faster.  The  Pekin  duck 
is  the  most  popular.  Ducks  are  as  greedy  eaters  as  hogs,  and  they 
should  not  be  fed  with  other  fowls.  They  are  not  good  mothers; 
if  eggs  are  not  hatched  in  an  incubator,  it  is  best  to  hatch  them  under 
a  hen  and  let  her  mother  the  ducklings  till  they  are  old  enough 
to  care  for  themselves.  Contrary  to  the  usual  opinion,  ducks  do  not 
need  water  except  to  drink,  and  can  easily  be  raised  without  access 
to  a  pond  or  stream. 

Turkeys.  —  Our  domestic  turkeys  are  descended  from  the  wild 
ones  native  to  America.  The  Bronze  is  the  largest  and  most 
popular  breed;  its  gobblers  weigh  about  thirty-six  pounds  and  its 
hens  about  twenty  pounds.  The  White  HQltod  is  a  handsome 
and  popular  breed, 


2/0 


AGRICULTURE 


White  Embden  Geese 


Turkeys  have  been  so  recently  domesticated  that  they  are  wilder 
and  of  more  roving  disposition  than  any  other  barnyard  fowl.  They 
seek  out-of-the-way  places  for  nests,  and  thrive  best  when  allowed 
free  range  and  outdoor  roosts.  The  meat  of  the  turkey  is  es- 
pecially prized,  and  is  a  favorite  for 
Thanksgiving  and  Christmas  din- 
ners. 

Geese.  —  Geese  arc  vigorous  and 
hardy  and  live  on  food  that  other 
poultry  would  reject.  They  do  not 
mature  till  they  are  three  years  old, 
and  they  often  live  to  be  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  years  old. 

Guinea  Fowls.  —  Guinea  fowls  are 
easily  raised.    They  are  industrious 
worm   and   Bug   destroyers.    Their 
flesh  is  dark,   but  excellent  in  flavor. 

Peafowls.  —  Peafowls,  formerly "  bred  for  table  use,  are  now 
raised  almost  entirely  as  an  ornamental  breed  and  for  their 
feathers. 

Food.  —  Fowls  need  a  balanced  ration  just  as  much  as  do  horses 
and  cows.  The  nutritive  ratio  for  fowls  is  i  '.4.  They  require  a 
larger  proportion  of  protein  than  most  other  animals.  Where 
they  have  free  range,  they  usually  find  seeds,  grass,  and  insects  that 
furnish  a  balanced  ration  to  enable  them  to  make  meat  and  pro- 
duce eggs.  Fowls  kept  in  a  poultry  yard  must  have  these  needs 
supplied. 

Many  good  poultry-raisers  feed  their  adult  fowls  three  times  a 
day,  giving  grain  for  breakfast,  green  food,  such  as  clover  and 
lettuce,  for  dinner,  and  m^sh  containing  meal  or  meat  scraps  for 
supper. 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS 


271 


-j^-"^^  --- 


A  Good  Dru  king-trough  for  Fowls 


Starchy  foods,  such  as  sweet  potatoes,  are  beneficial  in  small 

quantities;    when  they  are  fed  too  freely,  fowls  fatten  and  stop 

laying.   Corn,  also,  is  a  fattening 

food  which  should  be  sparingly 

used.     Wheat  is  good  for  fowls, 

and  oats  is  better  still.     It  is 

well  to  scatter  grain  in  straw  or 

litter  so  that  the  fowls  are  com- 
pelled to  scratch   for  it.     The 

more    exercise    they    take    the 

more  eggs   they  lay.     ''If  you 

wish  hens  to   pay  their  board, 

make  them  work  for  it."    They 

should  be  fed,  but  not  overfed, 

a  variety  of  wholesome  food.    To  produce  eggs  in  winter,  fowls 

must  have  green  food  and  warm  houses. 

Fowls  should  always  be  supplied  with  gritty  substances,  such 

as  coarse  sand  or  crushed  oyster  shells.    These  aid  digestion  and 

furnish  material  for  bones  and  eggshells. 

Water.  —  Fowls  should  always  be  provided  with  pure  water.     It 

should  be  arranged  so 
that  they  have  free 
access  to  it  but  can- 
not foul  it.  For  this 
purpose  it  is  well  to 
use  a  long  pan  with 
a  cover  of  slats  two 
inches  apart. 

Quarters.  — To 

keep  poultry  healthy,  they  must  have  clean,  well-drained  quarters. 

The   nests   should   be   arranged  so  as  to  be  easily  moved  and 


A  Small  Henhouse,  with  Scratching-shed  attached 


272 


AGRICULTURE 


Egg  Product  of  a  One-year-old  Hen 


cleaned.     Perches,  also,  should  be  movable;  they  should  be  low, 
not  more  than  two  and  a  half  or  three  feet  from  the  ground  if  large 

breeds  are  raised. 

In  cold  sections  espe- 
cially, there  should  be 
a  scratching-shed  at- 
tached to  the  house. 
It  should  open  to  the 
south  so  as  to  give  sun- 
shine, and  the  floor 
should  be  covered  with 
straw. 

The  house  and  shed 
should  be  kept  free 
from  lice  and  mites. 
Lice  live  on  fowls. 
Fowls  should  be  protected  against  them  by  insect  powder  dusted 
under  their  feathers,  and  by  having  access  to  dust  boxes  filled 
with  dust  or  fine,  loose  earth. 
Mites  are  blood-sucking  para- 
sites that  live  in  the  house  and 
attack  the  fowls  at  night.  They 
can  be  destroyed  by  spraying 
and  washing  the  inside  of  the 
house,  the  nests,  and  perches, 
often  and  thoroughly,  with  ker- 
osene, kerosene  emulsion,  or 
whitewash  containing  carbolic 
acid. 

Diseases.  —  Filth  and  dampness  are  directly  or  indirectly  the 
cause  of  most  poultry  diseases.    Cholera,  the  most  fatal  and  con- 


Egg  Product  of  a  Two-year-old  Hen 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS 


273 


Euii  Product  of  a  Three-year-old 
Hen 


tagious  of  these  diseases,  is  often  the  result  of  bad  food,  impure 
water,  or  overcrowding  in  a  dirty  house.  It  is  caused  by  bac- 
teria which  are  taken  in  through 
the  mouth.  Feeding  and  watering 
places  should  be  disinfected  and 
kept  clean.  Sick  fowls  should  be 
killed  and  burned  or  buried  deep. 

Care.  —  It  must  always  be  re- 
membered that  good  breeds  are  not 
enough.  Good  food  and  good  care 
are  needed.  Improved  breeds  given 
proper  care  yield  the  largest  profits 
in  meat  and  eggs.     But  when  they  are  neglected   and  left  to 

scratch  for 
a  living,  the 
common 
fowls  that 
are  used  to 
shifting  for 
themselves 
do  as  well  or 
better  than 
i  mproved 
breeds.  In 
any  case,  it 
is  the  young 
fowls  that 
are  profit- 
An  Incubator  and  Brooder  able.     A  hen 

three  years  old  is  usually  past  her  usefulness  as  an  egg  pro- 
ducer. 


2/4  AGRICULTURE 

Incubators  and  Brooders.  —  When  fowls  are  raised  on  a  large 
scale,  it  is  convenient  and  economical  to  use  incubators  and  brood- 
ers. In  the  incubators  the  eggs  are  hatched  by  artificial  heat,  and 
the  brooders  furnish  homes  for  the  little  chickens.  The  brooders 
must  be  kept  at  the  proper  temperature,  and  the  chickens  must 
be  fed  often  and  little  at  a  time.  Raising  chickens  requires  con- 
stant attention  to  details  which  is  gained  by  experience. 

EXERCISE 

Would  you  not  like  to  raise  some  fowls  ?  They  require  little  room,  but 
should  have  proper  care.  You  can  begin  with- one  hen.  If  she  is  kept 
alone,  her  eggs  will  be  infertile  and  will  not  hatch.  What  will  you  feed 
her  in  summer  ?  What  food  and  care  will  you  give  her  in  winter  so  as 
to  keep  her  laying? 

BEES 

Breeds.  — There  is  as  much  difference  in  breeds  of  bees  as  in 
breeds  of  cattle  or  sheep.  A  colony  of  the  common  East  India 
bees  produces  about  ten  or  twelve  pounds  of  honey  a  season;  a 
single  colony  of  Cyprian  bees  has  been  known  to  produce  a  thou- 
sand pounds. 

Colonies,  or  swarms,  of  our  native  brown  or  black  bees  make 
their  homes  in  hollow  trees.  These  bees  are  often  kept  on  farms; 
they  are  spiteful,  less  able  to  protect  themselves  against  insect  ene- 
mies than  some  other  breeds,  and  produce  less  honey.  Cyprian 
bees  are  industrious  but  cross.  The  Italians  are  good  workers  and 
less  spiteful.  The  Corniolans  are  gentle,  hardy,  and  industrious. 
The  Caucasians,  a  breed  recently  introduced  into  this  country 
by  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  bid  fair  to  become  popular. 
They  are  gentle  and  are  excellent  honey-gatherers. 

Beekeeping.  —  Beekeeping  is  most  profitable  in  localities 
where  blossoms  are  abundant.     Buckwheat,  asters,  and  mints. 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS 


275 


Queen 


clovers,  alfalfa,  and  other  legumes,  the  linden,  tulip,  or  poplar,  and 
fruit  trees  are  favorites  with  bees.  Fruit  trees  should  not  be 
sprayed  in  blossom  time  for  fear  of  poisoning 
the  insect  visitors.  Even  vv^hen  a  fruit  grower 
is  not  a  beekeeper,  .he  should  protect  bees  on 
account  of  their  service  as  pollen  carriers. 

There    are    many  successful  beekeepers  in 
large    cities.    Their   colonies    find    abundant 
food    in    the    flowers,    shrubs,   and   trees   of 
gardens,    parks,    and    streets.     Beekeeping   is 
light  and  profitable  work,  and  pleasant 
also  when  one  is  freed  from  the  fear  and 
danger  of  stings.     If  bees  are  dealt  with 
gently  and   smoked   properly,   they  are 
easily  managed. 

Bee  Colony.  — The  life  of  a  bee  family, 
or  colony,  is  very  interesting.  In  spring 
there  are  three  kinds  of  bees  in  each 
colony.  There  is  one  queen,  several  hun- 
dred drones,  and  about,  thirty-five  or 
thousand   workers. 

Queen.  —  The  queen  bee  lays  all  the  eggs  — 
sometimes  as  many  as  four  thousand  in  twenty- 
four  hours — and  leads  the  colony  when  it 
swarms. 

Drones.  — The  drones,  or  males,  gather  no 
honey  and  have  no  sting. 

Workers.  —  The  worker  bee  is  the  smallest,  but  on  it  falls  all 
the  labor  of  making  comb,  beebread,  and  honey,  and  of  caring 
for  the  larva^,  or  undeveloped  bees.  It  has  a  sting  to  protect 
itself  and  to  attack  its  enemies.     In  the  fall  the  workers  drive 


Drone 


fortv 


Worker 
CoRNioLAN  Bees 


2/6  AGRICULTURE 

out  the  drones,  leaving  them  to  starve  or  stinging  them  to  death 
if  they  try  to  return. 

It  takes  about  twenty-one  days  for  eggs  to  become  perfect  bees. 
Young  workers  begin  hfe  as  nurses  for  the  larvae.  When  about 
ten  days  old,  they  try  their  wings;  in  a  few  days  they  are  busy 
with  field  work,  making  honey. 

Swarms. — As  soon  as  the  oldest  queen's  cell  is  sealed,  the  old 
queen  leaves  the  hive,  followed  by  many  bees.  This  is  called  a 
swarm.  It  gathers  in  a  mass  about  the  queen  on  a  branch  of 
a  tree  or  elsewhere.  The  beekeeper  cuts  off  this  branch  or 
shakes  the  bees  into  a  basket  or  on  a  cloth  and  puts  them  into 
an  empty  hive. 

Hives.  —  Good  hives  with  movable  frames  should  be  used,  so 
that  filled  combs  may  be  taken  out  at  will.  In  order  to  let  the  bees 
devote  their  time  to  honey  making,  artificial  combs  are  sometimes 
used,  or  natural  combs  have  the  honey  removed  in  a  machine  called 
a  honey  extractor  and  are  put  back  to  be  refilled.  A  tin-lined 
entrance  to  the  hive  protects  the  bees  against  their  enemies,  mice. 
An  anti-robbing  entrance  guards  against  robber  bees  which  arc 
apt  to  steal  honey  from  weak  hives. 

Winter  Care.  —  The  beekeeper  should  be  careful  not  to  deprive 
his  colony  of  winter  food.  When  the  honey  is  taken  in  late  fall,  a 
thick  sirup  made  of  sugar  should  be  put  where  the  bees  have  access 
to  it.  They  soon  store  this  up  for  winter  food.  In  severe  climates 
the  hives  should  be  kept  through  the  winter  in  a  dry,  well-venti- 
lated, moderately  warm  place,  such  as  a  good  cellar. 

EXERCISE 

1.  What  flowers  have  you  seen  visited  by  bees?  At  what  season  do 
bees  make  most  honey  and  why? 

2.  Have  you  ever  seen  a  queen  bee?  Can  you  distinguish  a  drone 
from  a  worker? 


OUTLINE  OF  CHAPTER  SEVEN 

MISCELLANEOUS 
Trees: 

Uses  of  trees: 
Productive : 
Wood  for  fuel 
Timber  for  building 
Pulp  for  paper 
Yield  fruit,  nuts,  spices 
Supply  sugar,  tar,  pitch,  turpentine,  gums 
Protective : 

Regulate  water  supply 
Temper  climate 
Serve  as  wind  breaks 
Forest  enemies: 

Fungi,  insects,  wind,  grazing  and  browsing  animals,  fire,  man 
Forestry  and  destructive  lumbering 
Tree  planting 
Farm  Tools: 
Advantages : 
Save  labor 
Save  time 
Do  work  better 
Requirements : 

Proper  use  and  adjustment 
Repair  and  care 
Good  Roads: 
Advantages : 
Lessen  cost  of  hauling 
Increase  ease  of  intercourse 

277 


2/8  MISCELLANEOUS 

Requirements: 
Proper  grade 
Good  drainage 
Well-prepared  surface: 

Steel,  stone,  gravel,  earth 
Care  and  repair 
The  Help  of  Science: 
General 

United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 
State  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations 
School  Gardens: 
Suggestions 
School  grounds 
Landscape  gardening 


CHAPTER  SEVEN 


MISCELLANEOUS 


TREES 


Tree  in  Winter.  —  What  a  beautiful,  wonderful,  useful  thing  is 
a  tree !  Look  at  one  as  it  stands  outlined  against  the  winter  sky. 
How  substantial  are  its  trunk  and  branches !  It  is  hard  to  realize 
that  this  solid  body  is  built  up  from  the  invisible  air,  yet  so  it  is. 
Only  one  part  in  one  hundred  of  dry  wood  is  derived  from  the  soil ; 
the  other  ninety-nine  parts  are  derived  from  the  air.  Half  of  the 
substance  is  carbon;  the  remainder  is  chiefly  oxygen  and  hydrogen 
with  a  little  nitrogen.  '  ♦  . 

Tree  in  Summer. — Consider  the  tree  in  summer.  There  are 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  leaves, 
busy  in  a  factory  very  unlike  the 
noisy  ones  of  man.  What  a  wonder- 
ful amount  of  work  they  do  !  Grow- 
ing, they  prepare  food  for  the  tree, 
and  make  a  shade  grateful  to  man 
and  beast;  fallen,  they  serve  as  a  blan- 
ket to  keep  the  earth  warm  and  moist, 
and  form  mold  and  humus  to  enrich 
the  soil. 

With  all  his  sciences,  man  cannot  understand  exactly  the  pro- 
cesses of  their  work  nor  the  power  by  which  sap  mounts  to  the 
topmost  leaf  on  the  tree  fifty  or  a  hundred  or  three  hundred  feet 
from  the  ground. 

279 


A  Sycamore  Tree  in  Summer 
AND  IN  Winter 


28o  AGRICULTURE 

Tree  Products.  —  Orchard  and  nut-bearing  trees  are  valued  for 
their  fruits.  The  sap  of  some  trees  furnishes  useful  products  —  the 
maple  yields  sugar;  the  pine  supplies  tar,  pitch,  and  turpentine; 
the  camphor  produces  gum.  Millions  of  trees  are  cut  every  year 
to  supply  pulp  for  paper  making.  Tens  and  hundreds  of  millions 
are  cut  to  furnish  wood  for  fuel  and  timber  for  building  purposes, 
from  a  matchbox  to  a  house. 

Lumbering. — Lumbering,  or  cutting  trees  for  market,  ranks 
fourth  among  the  great  industries  of  the  United  States.  It  oc- 
cupies many  men  in  the  eastern  states  and  along  the  Gulf  Coast. 
It  is  the  chief  industry  in  the  Northwest,  in  the  states  of  Washing- 
ton, Oregon,  Idaho,  and  Montana,  where  there  are  original  forests 
of  fir,  spruce,  hemlock,  and  cedar.  From  sunrise  to  sunset  the  year 
round,  ax  and  saw  are  busy,  harvesting  the  great  crop  which  it 
has  taken  centuries  to  grow. 
Indirect  Benefits  of  Trees.  —  Suppose  we  could  do  without  the 

product  of  trees  —  fruits,  nuts, 
resins,  gums,  material  for  fuel 
and  building.  We  might  use  iron 
and  steel  for  fences  and  ships; 
cement  and  stone  for  building 
purposes ;  coal,  oil,  gas,  and  elec- 
tricity for  fuel.  Still  we  should 
be  unable  to  do  without  trees. 
Their  indirect  benefits  are  greater 

,     ^       ^  ^        than  their  direct  ones.     Forests, 

An  Oak  Trre,  gro\vin(;  in  the  Open 

which  are  trees  in  masses,  regu- 
late the  water  supply,  temper  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  and 
break  the  force  of  wind  and  storm. 

Effect  on  Water  Supply.  —  You  have  learned  how  important  to 
agriculture  is  the  supply  of  water.     Now  let  us  see  how  this  is 


MISCELLANEOUS  28 1 

affected  by  trees.  Examine  some  wood  mold,  as  we  call  the  soil 
of  the  forest.  It  is  loose  and  damp,  made  up  of  decayed  and 
decaying  leaves  and  twigs.  The  wood  mold  and  tree  roots  form  a 
vast  sponge  to  catch  and  hold  the  rainfall.  They  give  it  out  gradu- 
ally and  regularly  by  capillarity  and  evaporation  and  through 
streams.  They  protect  the  land  against  surface  washing  and,  to 
a  great  extent,  against  loss  of  water  by  evaporation. 

With  the  wood  mold  compare  the  hard  compact  earth  on  a 
barren  hillside.  Instead  of  sinking  in  this,  much  water  runs  off, 
leaving  it  hard  and  dry.  It  is  subject  to  floods  and  to  droughts 
which  affect  the  forest  but  little. 

If  you  consult  a  map  of  the  United  States,  you  find  that  the  head 
waters  of  its  great  rivers  are  in  the  mountains.  Nature  has  cov- 
ered the  mountain  sides  with  forests,  which  store  up  floods  and 
supply  the  waters  gradually  to  the  streams.  What  will  happen 
if  these  forests  be  cut?  The  mountains  will  be  changed  from 
reservoirs  to  mere  watersheds.  Down  their  steep  slopes  floods 
will  rush  to  the  valleys  and  plains  below,  destroying  and  bearing 
away  crops,  plantations,  villages. 

More  than  one  third  of  the  seaward-going  water  of  the  United 
States  makes  its  way  through  the  Mississippi.  How  important  it 
is  to  have  forest  reservoirs  on  its  head  waters,  and  to  use  and  dis- 
tribute the  water  along  its  course  as  evenly  as  possible  !  If  this  be 
not  done,  the  fertile  valley  will  finally  be  destroyed.  It  has  been 
neglected  so  far,  and  every  year  the  levees  are  piled  higher,  every 
year  the  flood-mark  rises. 

It  is  necessary  to  preserve  forests  not  only  to  regulate  the  flow  of 
streams,  but  to  give  a  regular  supply  of  water  for  irrigation.  Irri- 
gation is  needed  in  nearly  one  third  of  the  United  States.  Without 
forests,  it  is  impossible. 

National  Forests.  —  Since  1891  the  United  States  government 


282 


AGRICULTURE 


J 

^^ 

Fungi  on  an  Oak  Tree 


has  set  apart  sixty-one  forest  reservations,  containing  over  sixty-one 
million  acres,  at  the  head  v^aters  of  streams  and  on  high  land  in 
the  West. 

Forest  Enemies.  —  What  are  the  chief  enemies  of  the  forest  which 
is  so  useful,  so  necessary  to  man?    They  are  fungi,  wind,  insects, 

grazing  and  browsing  animals,  fire,  and 
man  himself. 

Fungi.  —  Like  other  plants  of  the 
higher  orders,  trees  have  fungous  pests 
that  cause  decay  and  death. 

Wind.  —  Windstorms  often  uproot 
trees  and  in  certain  sections  injure  and 
destroy  miles  of  forests. 

Insects. — Insects  frequently  kill  trees 
and  even  whole  forests.  Some,  such  as 
ants  and  borers,  burrow  into  the  wood  until  it  is  honeycombed. 
Others,  such  as  the  larvae  of  sawflies  and  moths,  kill  the  trees  by 
destroying  the  foliage. 

Grazing.  —  Wild  and  domestic  animals  do  harm  in  various 
ways.  Pasturing  in  moderation  h  not  harmful;  but  large 
herds  and  flocks  injure  forest  soil  by  trampling  and  close 
grazing,  and  they  bruise  and  break  young  trees.  Sheep  and  goats 
which  browse  on  the  foliage  are  most  injurious. 

Fire.  —  Next  to  man,  the  great  enemy  of  the  forest  is  fire.  It 
often  sweeps  over  miles  of  land,  killing  young  trees  and  injuring 
old  ones.  In  the  decaying  wood,  worms  finish  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion  begun  by  fire.  Even  the  soil  is  destroyed  by  being  deprived 
of  humus. 

Man.  —  Man,  directly  or  indirectly,  is  the  most  destructive  of  all 
the  enemies  of  the  forest.  He  fells  trees  in  vast  quantities,  and  by 
carelessness  and  bad  methods  he  increases  the  harm  done.     He 


MISCELLANEOUS 


283 


Starts  forest  fires;  he  cuts  wood  so  as  to  expose  the  forest  to  the 
damage  of  wind,  insects,  and  fungi;  he  inflicts  injury  by  over- 
grazing, especially  with  sheep  and  goats.  Too  often  he  treats  his 
friend,  the  forest,  as  if  it  were  a  deadly  enemy  that  he  is  bent  on 
destroying.    This  attitude  is  the  natural  result  of  the  early  state 


/-:  ../  .    -^  ■^■•^■.<^W^:#5^■- 

■^         .     ^^^^ 

Forest  Land  in  Minnesota  laid  waste  by  Lumbering  and  Fire 

of  affairs  in  this  country.  When  settlers  first  came  to  the  New 
World,  it  was  necessary  to  make  clearings  and  cut  forests.  Thus 
it  came  about  that,  "In  the  old  pioneer  days  the  American  had 
but  one  thought  about  a  tree  and  that  was  to  cut  it  down." 

But  conditions  have  changed.  For  the  sake  of  farming  and  other 
interests,  we  need  to  preserve  forests.  This  does  not  mean  that 
trees  should  never  be  cut.     As  other  crops,  should  be  harvested, 


284  AGRICULTURE 

)0  should  that  of  the  woods.  The  old  trees  should  be  cut  so  as  to 
ipare  and  benefit  the  young  ones  and  thus  renew  the  forest.  It  is 
ruly  said  that  a  forest  is  more  than  a  storehouse  of  wood;  it  is 
I  factory  for  wood  and  a  reservoir  for  water. 

Destructive  Lumbering.  —  Suppose  a  lumberman  who  feels  no 
nterest  in  forest  preservation  has  a  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land 
n  original  forest,  containing  six  hundred  million  feet  of  lumber. 
He  puts  in  a  big  plant  so  as  to  cut  a  hundred  million  feet  a  year.  He 
:uts  everything  large  enough  to  saw,  and  injures  and  destroys 
he  young  growth.  Fungi,  insects,  and  fire  are  given  opportunity 
:or  their  deadly  work.  At  the  end  of  six  years  the  lumberman 
las  the  money  for  his  six  hundred  million  feet  of  lumber,  but  he 
las  destroyed  the  forest. 

Forestry.  —  Suppose  a  similar  tract  of  land  comes  into  the  pos- 
session of  a  forester,  a  man  who  wishes  to  sell  lumber  and  also  to 
preserve  the  forest.  He  puts  in  a  smaller  plant,  cuts  the  mature 
;rees,  and  leaves  the  thrifty  young  ones  to  develop.  At  the  end  of 
^ix  years  he  has  taken  in  less  money  than  the  lumberman,  but  he 
tias  property  which  is  paying  profits  and  increasing  in  value.  With 
the  old  trees  out  of  the  way,  the  young  ones  have  more  room, 
lir,  sunshine;  and  plant  food,  and  so  grow  faster. 

Do  not  the  two  instances  remind  you  of  the  old  story  of  the 
man  with  the  goose  that  laid  golden  eggs?  The  wasteful  lum- 
berman kills  his  goose,  the  forester  keeps  his  to  lay  golden  eggs. 

The  economical  care  of  woodland  is  the  duty  not  only  of  the 
nen  who  control  vast  areas,  but  also  of  the  farmer.  It  is  im- 
Dortant  for  him  to  take  care  of  his  wood  lot,  though  it  be  only  a  few 
icres.  By  cutting  old  trees  and  sparing  growing  ones,  he  can  pre- 
serve and  increase  its  usefulness.  Rough  land  and  hillsides  are 
nore  valuable  in  forest  than  for  farming  purposes.  It  is  often 
profitable  to  plant  trees  on  such  land. 


MISCELLANEOUS  285 

Tree  Planting.  — The  planting  of  trees  is  most  important  on 
prairie  land,  where  they  are  needed  for  wind  breaks  and  for  wood 


Virgin  Stand  of  Southern  Yellow  Pine 

and  fuel.  These  vast,  treeless  plains  roll  their  sea  of  verdure  from 
the  Missouri  River  westward  to  the  foothills  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. 


286  AGRICULTURE 

In  the  prairie  state  of  Nebraska,  Arbor  Day  was  originated  in 
1872  by  Mr.  Morton,  who  afterward  became  Secretary  of  Agricul- 
ture. Arbor  Day,  set  apart  for  the  planting  of  trees,  is  now  ob- 
served in  nearly  every  state  of  the  Union  and  in  many  countries  of 
Europe. 

It  is  important  to  plant  trees  properly  and  to  give  then!  proper 
care.  Their  culture  is  simple,  consisting  of  keeping  the  soil  mellow 
and  free  from  weeds  for  three  or  four  years  till  they  so  shade  the 
ground  as  to  make  this  unnecessary.  Animals  should  not  be  per- 
mitted to  bruise  the  young  trees  nor  to  browse  on  the  tender  shoots. 

The  kinds  of  trees  to  be  planted  depend  on  locality  and  condi- 
tions; like  other  plants,  trees  have  certain  requirements  as  to 
moisture  and  climate.  The  European  larch  thrives  on  rough  rocky 
soils  and  on  wet  undrained  ones.  It  is  hardy  and  of  rapid  growth, 
and  its  timber  is  durable.  The  catalpa  is  a  beautiful  tree  that  bears 
large  clusters  of  fragrant  white  blossoms.  It  grows  rapidly  and  its 
durable  wood  is  valuable  especially  for  fence  posts  and  railroad 
ties. 

EXERCISE 

1.  Make  a  list  of  the  orchard  and  the  nut-bearing  trees  of  your 
section.     Name  ten  useful  tree  products. 

2.  Get  a  specimen  of  wood  mold  and  one  of  soil  from  a  barren  hill- 
side.    Compare  the  two. 

3.  Do  you  not  know  some  spot  that  would  be  improved  by  having  a 
tree  grow  there?  Select  a  sapling  of  the  kind  that  you  think  likely  to 
thrive  in  that  location  and  set  it  out.  Remember  that  it  is  better  to  have 
one  tree  well  set  and  cared  for  than  a  dozen  carelessly  set  and  neglected. 
Follow  carefully  the  rules  for  transplanting  on  pages  63  and  172. 

4.  Does  your  school  observe  Arbor  Day  ?  If  it  has  not  done  so  in  the 
past,  it  will  be  well  to  begin  this  year. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


287 


FARM  TOOLS 

Use  of  Tools.  —  Agriculture,  you  know,  cannot  be  carried  on 
without  tools.  The  poorest  farmer  has  his  hoe  and  plow  and  grain 
blade.  On  the  best  farms  there  is  an  ari:ay  of  tools  —  plows  and 
harrows  to  prepare  soil ;  planters,  drills,  and  transplanters  to  put  in 
crops;  cultivators,  horse  hoes,  and  weeders  to  till  them;  diggers, 
mowers,  reapers,  harvesters,  buskers,  shredders,  threshers  to  harvest 


Implements  used  in  producing  the  Crop  of  Corn  illustrated  on  Page  142 

products  and  prepare  them  for  use.  Many  of  these  are  recent  in- 
ventions; most  of  them  have  been  made  or  perfected  by  Americans. 

The  Plow.  —  The  first  agricultural  tools  were  few  in  number  and 
simple  in  form.  Consider,  for  instance,  the  plow  which  is  the 
oldest  of  all.  It  was  made  first  of  the  crooked  branch  of  a  tree, 
pointed  and  hardened  by  fire.  This  was  drawn  by  hand.  Then  it 
was  adapted  to  draft  animals,  such  as  oxen  and  horses.  By 
degrees  it  took  its  present  shape,  but  it  was  still  made  of  wood. 
Then  the  wooden  parts  were  protected  by  wrought  iron. 

About  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  cast-iron  plow- 
share, or  point,  was  invented.     At  first  American  farmers  would 


288 


AGRICULTURE 


Working  a  Crop  with  Hand  Hoes 


Horse  Hoe,  or  Hoeing  Machine 
This  machine  does  as  much  work  as  several  hand  hoes,  and  does  it  better. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


289 


not  use  it.  Seeing  that  weeds  as  well  as  crop  plants  responded  to 
the  better  cultivation,  they  said  that  it  poisoned  the  land  and  made 
weeds  grow.  Gradually,  however,  it  came  into  use,  only  to  give 
way  in  turn  to  the  share  made  of  chilled  steel.  Now  there  are  steel 
gang  plows  that  cut  ten  or  more  furrows  at  a  time.     Run  by 


Corn  Planter 

This  implement  drills  fertilizer  and  drops  and  covers  the  grain.     Formerly  three  men  were 
required  to  do  this  work. 

steam  or  electric  power,  they  do  the  work  of  ten  men  and  thirty 
or  forty  horses. 

Profits  from  Use  of  Good  Tools.  —  Buying  good  tools  suitable 
for  the  cultivation  of  his  crops  is  one  of  the  best  investments  a 
farmer  can  make.  They  save  labor  and  time  and  do  the  work 
better  than  it  could  otherwise  be  done. 

Tools  save  Labor.  —  Good  tools  save  labor  by  enabling  one  man 
or  one  team  to  do  the  work  of  two  or  more.  It  would  take  several 
men  to  stir  as  much  soil  and  destroy  as  many  weeds  in  one  day  as 
does  the  horse  hoe  or  cultivator,  or  to  cut  as  much  hay  or  grain  as 


290  AGRICULTURE 

does  the  mower  or  reaper.  The  cost  of  wages  and  board  for 
extra  farm  hands  is  thus  saved.  Thousands  of  dollars  are  paid 
in  wages  every  year  for  work  that  could  be  done  with  less  expense 
and  trouble  by  the  use  of  machinery.  Moreover,  the  farmer  who 
has  his  laborer  in  the  shed  is  sure  of  getting  it  in  the  field  when  it 
is  needed.  This  is  not  always  the  case  when  he  has  to  depend  on 
hiring  workmen. 

Tools  save  Time.  —  Good  tools  do  work  more  rapidly  than  it 
can  be  done  by  hand.    Thus  they  save  time,  and  nowhere  is  it 

truer  than  on  the  farm  that  time 
is  money.  Work  done  at  the 
right  time  is  the  work  that  pays. 
The  soil  needs  to  be  stirred  when 
A  Useful  Harrow  made  of  Heavy  it  is  in  proper  condition;  in  a  few 
^^^^^  days  or  hours,  it  may  be  too  wet 

or  too  dry.  Crops  need  to  be  cultivated  and  harvested  and  housed 
at  the  right  time;  if  this  be  not  done,  they  may  be  injured  or 
lost. 

With  the  tools  in  use  in*i830  it  took  a  man  ten  hours  and  twenty- 
five  minutes  to  plow,  harrow,  and  sow  with  wheat  one  acre  of  land ; 
with  the  combined  steam  gang- plow,  harrow,  and  seeder  now  in  use, 
it  takes  forty-five  minutes  to  do  the  same  work.  In  1830  to  reap 
that  acre  of  wheat  with  the  cradle  and  thresh  it  with  the  flail  took  a 
man  twenty-three  hours  and  twenty  minutes;  with  the  steam  har- 
vester seven  men  can  in  nine  minutes  cut  and  thresh  the  same 
amount  of  grain  and  put  it  in  bags  ready  for  the  mill. 

Tools  save  Money.  —  By  saving  labor  and  time,  improved  tools 
reduce  the  cost  of  producing  a  crop.  The  farmers  of  the  West 
have  taken  advantage  of  this  fact.  With  little  labor  and  at  the  least 
possible  cost,  they  raise  large  crops  of  grain.  Their  level  land, 
free  from  stumps  and  stones,  is  well  adapted  to  the  use  of  ma- 


MISCELLANEOUS 


291 


chinery.     On  rocky,  hilly  land  machinery  cannot  be  used  to  so 
great  advantage. 

Tools  do  Good  Work.  —  Improved  tools  often  do  work  better 
than  it  was  done  by  old  methods.  Modern  plows  and  harrows 
break  the  soil  deeper  and  fine  it  better  than  the  old  wooden  plows. 


Courtesy  of  Louisiana  Agricultural  iStatiou 

Shredding  Corn 
This  machine  takes  the  ears  from  the  stalks,  husks  the  ears,  and  shreds  the  stalks,  blades, 

and  husks. 

The  grain  drill  sows  seed  more  evenly  than  it  can  be  distributed  by 
hand.  The  steam  thresher  separates  grain  from  the  straw  and 
chaff  better  than  does  the  old-fashioned  flail.  A  cutting  or  shred- 
ding machine  is  needed  to  make  cornstalks  into  good  fodder. 

Weight  of  Machinery.  — Much  of  the  improved  machinery  is 
heavy  and  requires  large  strong  horses  and  mules  or  steam  power 
to  work  it.  A  machine,  like  a  man,  needs  weight  and  strength  \xk 
order  to  do  a  great  deal  of  work. 


292  AGRICULTURE 

Tools  to  Use.  —  Every  farmer  should  know  and  use  the  tools 
which  give  the  best  results  for  his  land  and  his  crops.  The  shape 
of  a  plow,  for  instance,  should  be  adapted  to  the  soil  and  to  the  pur- 
pose for  which  it  is  to  be  used.  Every  plow  should,  as  farmers  say, 
'swim  free,'  requiring  little  pressure  on  the  handles  to  guide  it. 
It  should  '  enter  the  ground  easily,  run  steadily,  and  clean  itself  well.' 

Care  of  Tools.  —  Good  tools,  as  has  been  said,  are  a  good  in- 
vestment for  the  farmer.  But  he  loses  the  profit  on  his  investment 
if  by  misuse  or  neglect  he  changes  good  tools  into  bad  ones.  Every 
year  farm  machinery  worth  millions  of  dollars  is  injured  and  lost 
by  lack  of  care.  Tools  should  be  kept  clean  and  well  oiled,  the 
nuts  tight,  with  all  parts  properly  adjusted.  A  machine  is  no 
stronger  than  its  weakest  part.  Its  usefulness  ends  when  this  is 
broken  by  careless  use,  or  worn  out  by  friction  caused  by  improper 
adjustment,  dirt,  and  lack  of  oil.  Replacement  of  old  parts  by 
new  ones  is  expensive.  A  good  machine  may  have  its  life  so 
shortened  by  misuse  and  neglect  as  to  be  a  source  of  loss  instead 
of  profit  to  its  owner. 

Tools  should  be  protected  against  exposure  to  weather.  The 
rust  of  metal  and  the  weathering  of  woodwork  during  a  winter's 
exposure  injures  tools  more  than  does  a  season's  use.  When  plows 
and  other  tools  are  laid  by,  even  for  a  few  weeks,  they  should  be 
cleaned,  wiped  dry,  and  protected  against  rust.  Needed  repairs 
should  then  be  made  so  as  to  have  them  ready  for  use  next  time. 

On  every  farm  there  is  needed  a  shed  or  house  for  tools.  This 
should  be  so  arranged  that  heavy  marhinery  can  be  driven  in  at 
one  door  and  out  at  another. 

Outbuildings.  —  Outbuildings  should  be  arranged  as  conveniently 
as  possible,  at  the  back  of  the  house.  They  should  be  connected 
with  the  house  by  walks  of  gravel,  cinders,  sand,  plank,  or  ce- 
ment.   The  stable  should  not  be  on  the  windward  side  of  the 


MISCELLANEOUS 


293 


house.  The  outbuildings  should  not  be  arranged  so  that  it  is 
necessary  to  go  through  the  stable  yard  in  order  to  reach  the  stable, 
crib,  or  silo.  The  silo  should  be  near  the  barn,  and  should  be 
strong  and  air-tight  and  smooth  inside. 


EXERCISE 

1.  Name  and  describe  three  necessary  farm  tools.  Describe  one 
improved  tool  and  tell  the  advantages  of  its  use. 

2.  Suppose  a  farmer  buys  a  corn  planter  for  sixteen  dollars  that  saves 
him  every  year  three  dollars  and  a  half  in  labor.  How  long  must  it  last 
to  repay  cost  ?  If  repairs  every  year  cost  ninety  cents,  how  much  longer 
must  it  last  to  repay  cost? 

3.  Examine  and  compare  the  tools  used  by  different  farmers  of  your 
neighborhood.  Compare  cost  and  work,  and  estimate  their  value  to  the 
farmer. 


GOOD  ROADS 

Disadvantages  of  Bad  Roads.  —  Roads  are  of  importance  to 
many  people,  but  most  of  all  to  those  who  live  on  farms  and  have 
to  haul  all  their  produce  over  them  and  pass  over  them  for  all 
communication  with  the  outside  world.  Bad  roads  interfere  with 
both  the  social  and  the  business  life  of  the  farm.  They  increase 
greatly  the  labor  and  expense  of  marketing  a  crop.  In  many 
cases  they  render  it  impossible  to  market  perishable  crops,  such  as 
melons,  fruits,  and  vegetables.  It  is  so  disagreeable  to  travel  on 
bad  roads,  that  they  lessen  church  and  school  attendance  and 
neighborly  visiting. 

As  soon  as  farmers  want  good  roads  enough  to  insist  upon  having 
them,  every  bad  road  in  our  country  will  be  replaced  by  a  good 
one.  The  millions  of  dollars  which  are  now  wasted  every  year 
on  bad  roads  will  be  used  to  maintain  good  ones.     Instead  of 


294 


AGRICULTURE 


having  the  worst  roads  of  any  civilized  country  in  the  world,  the 
United  States  will  have  the  best. 

What  makes  Roads  Bad.  —  What  makes  a  road  bad  ?  If  you 
ride  a  bicycle,  you  have  learned  some  things  from  experience.  You 
know  how  tiresome  it  is  to  climb  hills;  you  go  far  out  of  the  way  to 


■^^oMM'h 


■^r.ji^  f* 


■•^'  A\^" 


W 


J^ 


The  Condition  of  this  Road  is  due  to  Lack  of  Proper  Grading  and 

Drainage 


avoid  one  that  is  long  and  steep.  It  is  unpleasant  to  ride  on  a 
road  rough  with  stones,  roots,  ruts,  and  mudholes.  It  is  more 
difficult  to  travel  on  a  soft  yielding  surface  than  on  a  hard  firm  one. 
These  things,  which  make  a  road  bad  for  you,  make  it  bad  for  a 
horse  and  determine  how  heavy  a  load  he  can  pull. 

Let  us  consider  these  points  separately. 

Grade.  — The  grade,  or  ascent,  is  a  matter  of  prime  impor- 
tance.   This  requires  more  careful  consideration  in  laying  out  a 


MISCELLANEOUS 


295 


road  than  any  other  point,  and  yet  it  is  often  left  to  chance.  A 
footpath  up  hills  and  across  swamps  becomes  a  bridle  path,  then  a 
neighborhood  road,  then  a  public  highway.  Often  it  is  impossible 
to  make  a  good  road  along  such  a  route.  Money  and  labor  spent 
on  it  are  wasted.  A  pubhc  road,  especially  in  a  hilly  country, 
should  be  laid  out  by  a  good  road  engineer.  It  should  go  aroimd 
hills  or  along  their  sides  instead  of  across  them. 

It  is  much  more  important  "to  have  grades  gradual  than  roads 
Increased  ease  of  travel  more  than  makes  up  for  in- 


straight. 


Sketch  showing  the  Number  of  Horses  required  to  haul  the  Same  Load 
OVER  Different  Grades 

creased  distance.  A  horse  that  can  pull  two  thousand  pounds 
on  a  level  road  can  pull  only  four  fifths  as  much,  or  sixteen 
hundred  pounds,  when  the  grade  is  two  feet  to  the  hundred; 
when  the  grade  is  ten  feet  to  the  hundred  he  can  pull  only  five 
hundred  pounds,  or  one  fourth  as  much  as  on  a  level  road.  A 
public  road  should,  of  course,  be  as  straight  as  good  grading 
will  allow,  but  the  grade  should  not  be  more  than  three  feet  in  a 
hundred. 

For  practical  purposes,  a  road  is  no  better  than  its  worst  part. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  case  of  a  road  almost  level  except  for  one  hill 
that  has  a  ten  per  cent  grade.  A  farmer  who  has  to  haul  produce 
along  the  road  can  put  on  his  team  no  heavier  load  than  it  can 
pull   up  that  hill.     He  would  gladly  travel  a  longer  road  that 


296  AGRICULTURE 

avoids  the  steep  grade  and  enables  him  to  carry  his  produce  at 
one  load  instead  of  two. 

Drainage.  —  Drainage  is  another  important  point.  Water  is 
the  great  road  destroyer.  It  makes  mudholes  on  level  land, 
gullies  on  hills,  and  ruts  everywhere.  The  only  way  to  protect  a 
road  against  injury  from  surplus  water  is  to  have  on  each  side 
ditches  below  the  level  of  the  roadbed. 

The  roadbed  should  be  highest  in  the  middle  and  slope  to  each 
side,  having  a  fall  of  one  inch  to  each  two  or  three  or  four  feet. 
Surface  ditches  should  never  cross  the  road;    there  should  be 


Cross  Sfxtion  of  a  Good  Road  and  a  Bad  Road 

The  good  road  slopes  to  the  sides ;  the  bad  one,  indicated  by  dotted  line,  slopes  to  the 

middle. 

underdrains  for  this  purpose.  There  should  be  underdrains  in 
low  wet  places  also.  These  should  be  either  tile  drains  or  ditches 
filled  with  stones  and  brush  as  described  on  page  88. 

Surface.  ^Another  matter  of  importance  is  the  road  surface.  A 
hard  smooth  surface  is  best.  On  a  steel  road  one  horse  can  pull 
as  much  as  twenty  on  a  common  dirt  road.  The  best  roadbed  is 
steel;  next  to  that  is.  stone.  A  good  durable  road  is  made  by 
putting  a  layer  of  hard,  broken  stone  on  a  good  foundation,  then 
a  layer  of  smaller  stones,  crushed  and  rolled  so  as  to  obtain  a  hard, 
smooth  surface.  The  first  cost  of  steel  or  stone  roads  is  large, 
but  they  are  so  durable  and  require  so  few  repairs  that  they  are 
cheap  in  the  long  run.  On  an  old  road  in  New  Jersey  twenty- 
five  baskets  of  produce  was  considered  a  load;  the  dirt  road 
was  replaced  by  a  well-graded  stone  one,  and  on  this  a  hundred  or 
a  hundred  and  twenty-five  baskets  of  produce  are  carried  at  a  load. 


MISCELLANEOUS  297 

Well-packed  gravel  on  a  good  foundation  makes  a  good  road. 
Ordinary  earth  roads  can  be  greatly  improved  by  proper  grad- 
ing and  drainage,  and  by  frequent  rolling  and  dragging,  %o  as 
to  keep  the  surface  smooth  and  hard.     The  system  practiced  by 


A  GODO  R<JAi) 

A  year  ago  two  horses  could  haul  only  two  bales  of  cotton  over  this  road ;  after  improve- 
ment, the  same  horses  haul  twelve  bales. 

Mr.  King,  of  Missouri,  has  been  adopted  by  thousands  of  farmers 
throughout  the  country  and  has  improved  thousands  of  miles  of 
roads.  The  road  is  dragged  after  each  rain  or  thaw  with  a  split- 
log  drag  so  hitched  that  the  earth  is  drawn  toward  the  center 
of  the  road.    This  drag  is  a     vn  down  one  side  of  the  road  and 


298  AGRICULTURE 

back  the  other.     It  distributes  the  moist  earth  evenly  and  pre- 
pares a  smooth  hard  surface  from  which  rain  runs  off. 

Care  of  Roads.  —  No  matter  how  well  built  a  road  is,  it  becomes 
bad  if  it  is  not  given  proper  care.  Drains  should  be  kept  open; 
depressions  should  be  filled  with  the  material  of  the  roadbed  before 
they  become  mudholes.  It  is  easier  and  less  costly  to  keep  a  road 
good  than  to  repair  a  bad  one. 

EXERCISE 

Compare  the  best  road  or  street  with  the  worst  one  that  you  know. 
What  are  the  chief  points  of  difference  ?  How  could  the  bad  one  be 
improved  ? 

THE   HELP  OF  SCIENCE 

Work  of  Farmers.  —  Year  after  year,  century  after  century, 
farmers  learned  facts  by  observation  and  developed  methods  by 
experiments.  These  facts  and  methods  were  handed  down  from 
father  to  son  and  grandson.  They  were  accepted  and  practiced 
with  little  knowledge  of  the  underlying  principles. 

Studies  of  Scientists.  —  Instead  of  investigating  and  explaining 
these  principles,  students  devoted  themselves  chiefly  to  pure 
science.  Chemists,  for  instance,  gave  farmers  little  more  aid  than 
did  astronomers.  The  last  sixty  years,  however,  has  witnessed  a 
great  change.  Scientists  have  turned  their  attention  more  and  more 
to  practical  subjects.  Chemists  have  analyzed  soils,  learned  what 
elements  plants  need  for  food  and  in  what  forms  these  must  be 
supplied;  they  have  found  out  which  of  these  available  elements 
are  sometimes  lacking,  and  how  they  may  be  supplied  by  chemicals. 
The  result  of  these  investigations  is  the  production  and  use  of  mil- 
lions of  dollars'  worth  of  fertilizers  and  a  vast  increase  in  the  pro- 
ductive power  of  land. 


MISCELLANEOUS  299 

As  you  learned  in  connection  with  stock  feeding,  scientists  have 
studied  animal  foods  and  food  values.  The  application  of  the 
principles  discovered  by  them  has  made  stock  feeding  less  costly 
and  more  profitable. 

United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  —  Our  government, 
through  the  work  of  practical  scientists  in  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, does  much  to  develop  the  great  industry  which  every  year 
produces  over  half  of  the  wealth  of  the  country.    The  benefits  of 


'iiiE  New  Building  of  the  Department  of  Agriclltlre 

the  Department  of  Agriculture  extend  over  all  the  country.  The 
Department  is  divided  into  parts,  called  Bureaus,  each  having  a 
special  line  of  work. 

State  Experiment  Stations.  — There  is  in  each  state  an  Agricul- 
tural Experiment  Station  supported  by  government  and  state 
funds.  These  stations  carry  on  scientific  agriculture  along  lines 
adapted  to  the  special  industries  and  conditions  of  the  states.  The 
work  of  the  Illinois  Station  in  corn  breeding  has  been  worth  mil- 
lions of  dollars  to  farmers  in  corn-growing  sections.  The  Tennessee 
Station,  through  careful  selection,  has  developed  strains  of  wheat 
and  barley  that  make  good  crops  in  the  South  where  other  varie- 
ties  do   not   thrive.     The  North  Dakota  Station  originated  the 


3(X)  AGRICULTURE 

use  of  formalin  to  destroy  smut  on  grain  —  making  an  annual 
saving  in  that  state  alone  of  three  million  dollars.  Every  station 
is  doing  interesting  and  helpful  work  for  the  farmers. 

Department  and  State  Publications.  — The  results  of  the  work  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  of  State  Stations  are  published 
in  pamphlets,  called  bulletins. 

The  Year  Book  published  annually  by  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture is  sent  free  on  request.     Direct  your  application  to  the  con- 


Barn  and  Silo  at  the  Virginia  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 

gressman  of  your  district  or  to  either  of  the  United  States  senators 
of  your  state. 

The  Farmers'  Bulletins  published  by  the  Department  of  Ag- 
riculture are  sent  free  on  request.  Direct  your  application  to  your 
congressman  or  to  one  of  your  senators  or  to  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture,  Washington,  D.C. 

The  Bulletins  of  the  State  Experiment  Stations  are  sent  free  on 
request  to  any  person  in  the  state.  Write  to  the  Director  of  the 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  your  state  for  the  bulletins 
you  wash,  or  ask  to  have  your  name  put  on  the  permanent  mailing 
list  to  receive  all  its  bulletins. 

On  request  to  the  directors,  valuable  bulletins  can  often  be 
obtained  from  other  State  Stations  at  little  or  no  cost. 

A  list  of  State  Experiment  Stations  is  given  on  page  312. 


MISCELLANEOUS  301 


SCHOOL    GARDENS 

School  Gardens.  —  There  are  over  a  hundred  thousand  school 
gardens  in  Europe,  and  thousands  have  been  estabhshed  in  the 
United  States  within  the  last  few  years.  In  the  grounds  of  the  De- 
partment of  x\griculture  in  Washington  city  there  is  a  model  gar- 
den. In-  a  general  garden  are  raised 
our  agricultural  staples,  —  tobacco, 
cereals,  grasses,  and  fiber  plants,  such 
as  cotton  and  flax.  In  his  or  her  in- 
dividual plot  each  pupil  raises  vege- 
tables and  flowers.  Work  in  these 
gardens  trains  habits  of  observation 
and  gives  practical  knowledge  of  our 
garden,  orchard,  and  field  crops  and 
their  care. 

Size  and  Arrangement.  —  The  size 
of  a  school  garden,  and  whether  there 
are  general  or  individual  beds,  depend 
upon  the  grounds  available  for  the  pur- 
pose.    There  should   be  plots,  if  only 

.  A  Young  Gardener 

large  enough  to  contam  a  few  plants, 

for  the  staple  crops  of  the  section  and  for  common  vegetables  and 
flowers.  A  large  garden  should  be  plowed;  a  small  one  should 
be  spaded.  Walks  should  be  laid  off  between  the  beds.  It  is 
well  to  have  the  rows  run  north  and  south,  as  the  plants  thus 
get  more  sunshine.  Tall-gro^ying  plants  should  be  put  on  the 
north  side. 

Suggestions.^  For  vegetables  choose  common,  easily-grown  ones, 
such  as  lettuce,  radishes,  onions,  tomatoes,  beans,  beets,  and  com. 


302 


AGRICULTURE 


Vol  llowers  sckul  luirdy  ones,  such  as  phlox,  pansies,  verbenas, 
and  California  p()|)i)ii's.  'IVsl  seeds  for  purity  and  vitality,  and 
l)lant  them  in  soil  made  firm  ;nid  mellow.  I^o  uol  crowd  the 
rows  or  plants.  Cul- 
tivate the  ^'arden 
well  and  kei'j)  it  free 
from  weeds.  Keep 
the  walks  smooth  and 
clean.  If  possible, 
continue  the  work  in 
vacation  and  ha\c>  an 
ixhibilion  of  tiu-  l)est 
fruits  and  vejjjetables. 
IMants  for  trans- 
l)lanting  may  he 
raised  from  slips  set  in 
a  box  of  sand,  kept  damp 


'RAY,   VOK  Sl'AKTINi;    PLANTS    FOR 
TRANS1'I.ANTIN(} 


A  c'irv  iMm.n's  W'inoow  (Jakdkn  — 
TllKI'K  Hkokkn   Imicsiiki.i.s 


'I'omato,  cabbapje,  lettuce,  and  other 
plants  may  be  raised 
from  seed  in  a  hotbed. 
The  schoolroom  is 
made  more  attractive 
by  a  window  garden, 
in  whiih  (^row  <>;era- 
niuins  and  other  plants. 
I'Vrns  nourish  in  a 
northern  cv\i)0sure. 
The  Chinese  sacred 
lily  will  grow  and 
blossom  if  the  bulb 
be  put     in    a    pan    of 


m 


>ya,tcr  with  sand  apd  pebbles  at  the  bottom. 


t^: 


-•^'^X^^^<.M!^/'^x^:^^- 


i'#/j'/" 


"■'X..^. 


A   S<  llooI.lKlUSK  OK  A   NOT  UNCOMMON     I'Yl'K 


K. i*!! 


Thk  Same,  imi'ROVEu  bv  iiik  I'lanunu  ov  Tkkes  and  Vines 


304  AGRICULTURE 

School  Grounds.  —  Young  gardeners  may  do  much  to  make 
school  grounds  attractive.  Of  course,  a  playground  is  needed, 
and  it  should  not  be  encumbered  with  shrubs  and  flower  beds. 
But  the  schoolhouse  may  be  vshaded  with  trees,  bare  corners  may 
be  beautified  with  shrubs  and  flowers,  and  outbuildings  may  be 
screened  with  vines.  Flowers  should  be  planted  in  beds  and 
borders,  and  trees  and  shrubs  should  be  set  in  groups,  with  the 
larger  ones  at  the  back.  Among  desirable  trees,  shrubs,  and 
vines  are  the  elm,  linden,  oak,  and  maple,  dogwood,  lilac,  and 
snowball,  ivy,  Virginia  creeper,  and  morning-glory. 

Landscape  Gardening.  —  Study  attractive  and  unattractive 
grounds,  and  try  to  understand  the  reasons  for  the  difference  in 
appearance.  "  Two  trees  and  six  shrubs,  a  scrap  of  lawn,  and 
a  dozen  plants  may  form  either  a  beautiful  little  picture  or  a 
huddled  disarray"  of  forms  and  colors.  Landscape  gardening  is 
an  art  that  makes  pictures  with  grass  and  trees  and  other  natural 
objects  instead  of  with  pencil  and  brush.  If  we  wish  to  secure 
good  results,  we  must  have  a  plan,  the  simpler  the  better,  and 
a  picture  in  our  minds  of  the  result  we  wish  to  obtain.  We  must 
be  sure  to  plant  the  right  things  in  the  right  place  and  in  the 
right  way. 


APPENDIX 

MIXING   FERTILIZERS 

All  the  '  machinery '  necessary  is  a  tight  floor  or  a  smooth  hard  place  on  the 
ground,  scales,  a  shovel  or  hoe,  an  iron  rake,  and  a  sand  screen.  Lumpy  materials 
should  be  pulverized  and  run  thnjugh  the  screen  before  they  are  added  to  fine  ones. 
The  most  bulky  material  should  be  spread  on  the  floor  in  a  layer  about  six  inches 
deep,  then  the  next  material  should  be  spread  on  top  of  this,  and  so  on  till  all  are 
added  in  layers  to  the  pile.  The  pile  should  then  be  shoveled  and  raked  over  from 
top  to  bottom  so  as  to  mix  the  materials  well.  This  process  should  be  repeated  three 
or  four  times  and  then  the  mixture  passed  through  the  screen.  It  is  then  ready 
for  use. 

Acid  phosphate  is  the  cheapest  and  one  of  the  best  sources  of  phosphoric  acid. 
Various  grades  are  sold,  ranging  from  7  to  1 8  per  cent  available  phosphoric  acid. 
The  higher  grades  are  the  more  economical. 

Nitrate  of  soda  is  15I  to  16  per  cent  nitrogen;  sulphate  of  ammonia  19  to  20} 
per  cent;  dried  blood  12  to  14  per  cent;  tankage  5  to  12^  per  cent;  and  cotton- 
seed meal  6^  to  7I  per  cent. 

Nitrate  substitutes  may  be  made  on  the  following  basis :  for  one  pound  of  nitrate 
of  soda  use  one  pound  of  high  grade  dried  blood,  or  two  pounds  of  cotton-seed  meal. 

Muriate  of  potash,  which  is  50  per  cent  potash,  is  the  cheapest  form  of  potash  for 
crops  such  as  corn,  peas,  and  cotton;  but  the  salt  in  the  muriate  or  in  kainit,  which 
is  12  or  I2|  per  cent  potash,  injures  the  quality  of  some  crops,  such  as  tobacco  and 
potatoes.  For  these  it  is  better  to  use  sulphate  of  potash,  18  to  52  per  cent  potash, 
or  hard-wood  ashes,  2  to  8  per  cent  potash.  Ashes  should  never  be  mixed  with  acid 
phosphate  unless  both  are  perfectly  dry,  and  neither  ashes  nor  lime  should  be  mixed 
with  stable  manure. 

Potash  substitutes  may  be  made  on  the  following  basis :  for  each  one  pound  of 
muriate  of  potash  use  one  pound  of  high-grade  sulphate  of  potash  or  four  pounds  of 
kainit  or  ten  pounds  of  dry  unleached  hard-wood  ashes. 

Fertilizer  formulas  should  give  the  per  cent  of  available  phosphoric  acid,  nitrogen, 
and  potash.  Often  instead  of  the  per  cent  of  nitrogen  there  is  given  the  per  cent  of 
ammonia  which  is  }|  nitrogen,  and  the  per  cent  of  sulphate  of  potash  which  is  about 
50  per  cent  potash.  The  fertilizer  which  claims  8  per  cent  sulphate  of  potash  is 
therefore  equal  to  one  which  claims  4  per  cent  potash,  and  one  which  claims  4.5  per 
cent  ammonia  is  equal  to  one  claiming  3.8  nitrogen. 

305 


3o6  APPENDIX 


SOME  FERTILIZER   FORMULAS 
I.    For  Corn 

Acid  phosphate,  14% 95°  l^j. 

Cotton-seed  meal looo  lb. 

Muriate  of  potash 5°  ^^' 

Apply  so  as  to  get  100  to  200  lb.  of  acid  phosphate  to  the  acre. 

II.   For  Con^oN 

Acid  phosphate,  14% 1250  lb. 

Dried  blood,  13%  nitrogen 600  lb. 

Muriate  of  potash 1501b. 

Apply  so  as  to  get  200  to  400  lb.  of  acid  phosphate  to  the  acre. 

III.  For  Tobacco 

Acid  phosphate,  14%      •         •         •         •         •         •         *  ^°^5  lb. 

High-grade  dried  blood,  13%  nitrogen   .         .         .         .  500  lb. 

Nitrate  of  soda 1251b. 

Sulphate  of  potash,  50  %  potash      .        .        *        ^        .  310  lb. 

IV.  For  Legumes 

When  seed  is  inoculated  so  that  the  legumes  can  collect  their  own  nitrogen. 

Acid  phosphate,  14% i^oo  lb. 

Muriate  of  potash 200  lb. 

Apply  so  as  to  get  200  to  300  lb.  of  acid  phosphate  to  the  acre.     On  poor  land 
legumes  do  better  when  a  small  amount  of  nitrogen  is  supplied  by  the  fertilizer. 


FORMULAS  FOR  SPRAYING  PREPARATIONS 

FUNGICIDES 
I.  Copper  Sulphate 
For  wintering  spores 

Copper  sulphate ^  '■"' 

Water 15  gal- 

For  peaches  and  nectarines  use  25  gallons  of  water.     Use  on  tree  trunks  and 
branches  before  buds  open. 


APPENDIX  307 

II.    Bordeaux  Mixture 
For  blight,  mold,  rot,  scab,  and  all  other  fungous  diseases  of  plants  in  foliage. 

Copper  sulphate 6  lb, 

Unslacked  lime 4  lb. 

Water 50  gal. 

For  peaches,  plums,  and  cherries  double  the  quantity  of  water.  Dissolve  the 
copper  sulphate  in  hot  water  in  an  earthen  or  wooden  vessel,  and  then  dilute  it  to 
25  gallons.  Slack  the  lime  in  a  wooden  vessel  with  boiling  water,  slowly  and  care- 
fully so  as  to  form  a  smooth  paste.  Dilute  it  to  25  gallons.  When  cool,  mix  with  the 
copper-sulphate  solution,  stirring  thoroughly. 

III.    Ammoniacal  Copper  Carbonate 

For  fungous  diseases  of  ripening  fruit 

Copper  carbonate    . 5  oz. 

Ammonia,  26^0 3  pt. 

Water 50  gal. 

This  mixture  does  not  stain  nor  roughen  ripening  fruit.  Make  the  copper  carbon- 
ate into  a  paste  with  i^  pints  of  water.  Dilute  the  ammonia  with  i|  gallons  of  water 
And  dissolve  the  paste  in  it.  This  stock  solution  can  be  kept  in  glass-stoppered  bottles 
and  diluted  as  wanted,  by  adding  6  gallons  of  water  to  each  quart  of  the  solution. 

IV.    Formalin 

For  smut  and  scab 
Formalin          .         j         .         .         .         ,         ,         .         .       i  pt. 

Water  for  scab 30  gal. 

Water  for  smut        .         .         .         ,         .         ,         .         -50  gal. 
Mix  and  moisten  thoroughly  the  grain  and  potatoes  to  be  used  for  seed,  just  be- 
fore planting.     Put  the  potatoes  in  a  bag  and  soak  for  two  hours  in  the  preparation. 
Grain  should  be  soaked  twenty  minutes  and  then  spread  so  as  to  dry  without  heating. 

INSECTICIDES 
I.   Paris  Green 
For  chewing  insects  on  plants,  such  as  codling-moth  larvae,  potato   beetles,  etc. 

Paris  green i  lb. 

Water 150  to  300  gal. 

For  use  on  trees  in  foliage,  especially  fruit  trees,  add  I  lb.  of  unslacked  lime. 
Paris  green  is  a  poison,  and  should  be  used  with  care.  It  should  be  mixed 
to  a  thin  paste  with  water,  diluted  to  the  required  amount/ and  kept  well  stirred. 

A  dry  preparation  is  made  by  mixing  one  pound  of  Paris  green  with  from  20  t6 
50  lb.  of  flour  gypsum,  or  air-slacked  lime.  This  should  be  mixed  thqroughly  an4 
dusted  on  plants,  preferably  while  they  are  wet  with  rain  or  dew. 


308  APPENDIX 


II.    Kerosene  Emulsion 

For  sucking  insects,  such  as  aphides,  or  plant  lice. 

Hard  soap        . ^  lb. 

Boiling  water i  gal. 

Kerosene 2  gal. 

Dissolve  the  soap  in  the  boiling  water.     Add  the  kerosene  and  churn  with  a 

pump  from  five  to  ten  minutes.     Dilute  with  from  8  to  50  gallons  of  water,  using 
the  strong  solution  for  scale  insects. 

III.    Bisulphide  of  Carbon 

For  grain  moths,  weevils,  and  all  insects  affecting  stored  food  and  seed. 

One  teaspoonful  to  each  cubic  foot  of  space. 
Pour  into  a  saucer  or  shallow  pan  and  set  on  the  top  of  the  grain  in  a  tightly  closed 
bin.     The  bisulphide  is  very  inflammable,  and  should  be  kept  from  light  and  fire. 

IV.  Cobalt  Sirup 
For  poisoning  tobacco  flies  and  other  flies  and  moths. 

Cobalt I  oz. 

Molasses     .  - .         .      J  pt. 

Water i  pt. 

Insert  in  the  blossom  of  the  Jamestown  weed  by  means  of  a  quill. 

FUNGICIDES   AND  INSECTICIDES 

I.  Bordeaux  Paris  Green 

Bordeaux  mixture 5°  8^^* 

Paris  green 4  oz. 

II.   Lime,  Salt,  Sulphur  Wash 
For  winter  application  for  San  Jose  scale 

Lime 15  ^b. 

Sulphur 15  lb. 

Salt •         .       5  lb. 

Water S^gal. 

Heat  4  or  5  gallons  of  water  in  a  twenty-gallon  iron  kettle.  Put  in  15  lb.  of  lime; 
while  it  is  slacking,  add  15  lb.  of  sulphur  and  add  boiling  water  to  make  a  thick 
paste.  Add  more  water  so  as  to  make  about  10  or  15  gallons.  Keep  the  mixture 
well  stirred,  and  boil  thirty  or  forty  minutes.  Strain,  add  the  salt,  and  dilute  to 
50  gallons. 


APPENDIX 


309 


AVERAGE  DIGESTIBLE  NUTRIENTS  IN  AMERICAN  FEEDING  STUFFS 


Feeding  Stuffs 


Digestible  Nutrients  in  100  Pounds 


Protein 

Carbohydrates 

Fat 

II.O 

39-6 

1.2 

1-7 

32.4 

0.7 

10.8 

38.6 

6.8 

35.8 

1-7 

2.8 

43-4 

1.4 

3.6 

4.9 

3-7 

3-1 

4-7 

0.8 

3-9 

4.0 

I.I 

8.7 

65.6 

1.6 

7-9 

66.7 

4-3 

H 

57-1 

2.7 

4.8 

72.2 

0.3 

9.9 

67.6 

I.I 

10.2 

69.2 

1-7 

12.5 

30.0 

17-3 

37-2 

i6.q 

12.2 

0-3 

33-1 

1-7 

18.3 

54.2 

I.I 

Alfalfa  hay  .... 
Corn  stover,  field  cured 
Cowpea  hay  .... 
Red  clover  hay  .  .  . 
Timothy  hay  .  .  . 
Cow's  milk  .... 
Skimmed  milk  .  .  . 
Buttermilk     .... 

Barley 

Corn 

Kafir  corn      .... 

Rice 

Rye 

Wheat 

Cotton  seed  .... 
Cotton  seed  meal  .  . 
Cotton  seed  hulls  .  . 
Cowpeas 


FEEDING   STANDARDS 

Pounds,  per  day,  per  1000  lb.  live  weight. 


Kind  of  Animal 


Horse,  at  light  work 
Horse,  at  hard  work 
Oxen,  at  rest  .  .  . 
Oxen,  at  hard  work  . 
Fattening  oxen  .  . 
Milch  cows       .      .     . 


Wool-producing  sheep 
Fattening  sheep    . 
Fattening  swine   . 


Age,  months 

2-  3    . 

3-  6    . 
6-12    . 

12-18    . 
18-24    • 


Growing  Cattle 

Average  weight,  per  head 


150  lb. 
300  lb. 
500  lb. 
7CXD  lb. 
850  lb. 


Protein 


1.5 
2.8 
0.7 
2.4 

3-0 

2-5 
1.2 

3-5 
4.0 


4jo 
3-2 

2.5 
2.0 
1.6 


Carbo- 
hydrates 


9-5 
13-4 

8.0 
13.2 
14.8 
12.5 
10.3 
14.4 
24.0 


13.8 
13-5 
13.5 
13.0 
12.0 


Fats 


0.40 
0.80 
0.15 
0.50 
0.70 
0.40 
0.20 
0.60 


2.0 
I.O 
0.6 
0.4 

0-3 


Nutritive 
Ratio 


7.0 

5-5 

12.0 

6.0 

5-5 
5-4 
9.0 

4-5 
6.0 


4-7 
5-0 
6.0 
7.0 
8.0 


3IO 


APPENDIX 


LIST   OF   FARMERS'    BULLETINS 


FOR   SUPPLEMENTARY   READING 

The  following  Farmers'  Bulletins,  issued  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  con- 
tain practical,  scientific  information  on  the  subjects  treated  in  this  book.  Copies  are 
sent  free  on  application  to  a  Senator  or  Representative  in  Congress  or  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  Agriculture. 

Write  to  your  State  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  also  for  copies  of  its  bul- 
letins. These  bulletins  furnish  excellent  n)aterial  for  supplementary  reading  and 
study  along  desired  lines.  By  their  use  work  can  be  adapted  to  different  grades 
and  to  special  local  conditions. 


Chapter  I 

66. 

Meadows  and  Pastures. 

88. 

Alkali  Lands. 

102. 

Southern  Forage  Plants. 

147- 

Winter   Forage   Crops   for   the 

Chapter  II 

South. 

.     215. 

Alfalfa  Growing. 

III. 

Farmers'  Interest  in  Good  Seed. 

81. 

Corn  Culture  in  the  South. 

260. 

Seed  of  Red  Clover  and  Its  Im- 

199. 

Corn  Growing. 

purities. 

229. 

The  Production  of  Good  Seed 

157- 

The  Propagation  of  Plants. 

Corn. 

no. 

Rice    Culture    in    the    United 

Chapter  III 

States. 

48. 

The  Manuring  of  Cotton. 

245- 

257- 
150. 
187. 

Renovation  of  Worn-out  Soils. 
Soil  Fertility. 
Clearing  New  Land. 
Drainage  of  Farm  Lands. 

217. 

274. 
60. 

Essential    Steps  in  securing  an 

Early  Crop  of  Cotton. 
Flax  Culture. 
Methods  of  Curing  Tobacco. 

46. 

Irrigation  in  Humid  Climates. 

82. 

The  Culture  of  Tobacco. 

138. 
263. 

Irrigation  in  Field  and  Garden. 
Practical    Information    for   Be- 

83. 

52. 

Tobacco  Soils. 
The  Sugar  Beet. 

ginners  in  Irrigation. 

154- 

The  Home  Fruit  Garden  :  Prep- 

266. 

Management   of  Soils  to    con- 

aration and  Care. 

serve  Moisture. 

i6r. 

Practical  Suggestions  for  Fruit 

Chapter  IV 

Growers. 

181. 

Pruning. 

62. 

Marketing  Farm  Produce. 

208. 

Varieties      of      Fruits     recom- 

242. 

An  Example  of  Model  Farming. 

mended  for  Planting. 

272. 

A    Successful    Hog   and  Seed- 

113. 

The  Apple  and   How  to  grow 

corn  Farm. 

It. 

APPENDIX 


311 


255.  The  Home  Vegetable  Garden. 

35.  Potato  Culture. 

39.  Onion  Culture. 

129.  Sweet  Potatoes. 

220.  Tomatoes. 

156.  The  Home  Vineyard. 

198.  Strawberries. 

213.  Raspberries. 

195.  Annual  Flowering  Plants. 

Chapter  V 

28.    Weeds:      And    How    to    Kill 

Them. 
86.   Thirty  Poisonous  Plants. 
188.    Weeds  used  in  Medicine. 
146.    Insecticides  and  Fungicides. 
243.    Fungicides   and    their   Use   in 
Preventing  Diseases  of  Fruits. 
127.    Important  Insecticides. 
155.    How   Insects   affect  Health  in 

Rural  Districts. 
47.    Insects    Affecting    the    Cotton 

Plant. 
70.    Insect  Enemies  of  the  Grape. 
99.    Insect  Enemies  of  Shade  Trees. 
120.    Insects  Affecting  Tobacco. 
132.    Insect    Enemies    of    Gro\^ing 

Wheat. 
216.   The  Control  of  the  Boll  Weevil. 
223.    Miscellaneous    Cotton    Insects 

in  Texas. 
247.   The    Control    of    the   Codling 

Moth  and  Apple  Scab. 
275.   The  Gypsy  Moth  and   How  to 
control  It. 

Chapter  VI 

22.   The  Feeding  of  Farm  Animals. 
32.    Silos  and  Silage. 


42.  Facts  about  Milk. 

55.  The  Dairy  Herd. 

63.  Care  of  Milk  on  the  Parm. 

71.  Essentials  in  Beef  Production. 

72.  Cattle  Ranges  of  the  Southwest. 
106.  Breeds  of  Dairy  Cattle. 

143.  The  Conformation  of  Beef  and 

Dairy  Cattle. 

151.  Dairying  in  the  South. 

241.  Butter  Making  on  the  Farm. 
258..  Texas   or   Tick   Fever   and  its 

Prevention. 

261.  The  Cattle  lick. 

170.  Principles  of  Horse  Feeding. 

179.  Horseshoeing. 

49.  Sheep  Feeding. 

96.  Raising  Sheep  for  Mutton. 

137.  The  Angora  Goat. 

24.  Hog  Cholera  and  Swine  Plague. 

100.  Hog  Raising  in  the  South. 

41.  Fowls:  Care  and  Feeding. 

51.  Standard  Varieties  of  Chickens. 

64.  Ducks  and  Geese. 

141.  Poultry  Raising  on  the  Farm. 

200.  Turkeys. 

236.  Incubation  and  Incubators. 

59.  Beekeeping. 


Chapter  VII 

134.   Tree  Planting  in  Rural  School 

Grounds. 
173.    Primer  of  Forestry. 
228.    Forest     Planting     and     Farm 

Management. 
95.    Good  Roads  for  Farmers. 
136.    Earth  Roads. 
185.    Beautifying  the  Home  Grounds. 
218.   The  School  Garden, 


312 


APPENDIX 


STATE  AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS 


Alabama  —  College  Station:  Auburn. 

Canebrake  Station :    Uniontown. 

Tuskegee  Station :    Tuskegee. 
Arizona —  Tucson. 
Arkansas  —  Fayetteville. 
California  —  Berkeley. 
Colorado  —  Fort  Collins. 
Connecticut  —  State     Station:     New 
Haven. 

Storrs  Station :   Storrs. 
Delaware  —  Newark. 
Florida  —  Lake  City. 
Georgia  —  Experiment. 
Idaho  —  Moscoiv. 
Illinois —  Urbana. 
Indiana  —  Lafayette. 
Iowa  —  Ames. 
Kansas —  Manhattan. 
Kentucky  —  Lexington^ 
Louisiana  —  Sugar      Station:       New 
Orleans. 

State  Station :   Baton  Rouge. 

North  Station :    Calhoun. 
Maine  —  Orono. 
Maryland  —  College  Park. 
Massachusetts  —  Amherst. 
Michigan  —  Agricultural  College. 
Minnesota  —  St.   Anthony   Park,    St. 

Paul. 
Mississippi — Agricultural  College. 


Missouri  —  College  Station:    Columbia. 

Fruit  Station  :   Mountain  Grove. 
Montana  —  Bozeman. 
Nebraska  —  Lincoln. 
Nevada  —  I\eno. 
New  Hampshire  —  Durham. 
New      Jersey  —  State      Station:       New 
Brunswick. 

College  Station  :  New  Brunstvick. 
New  Mexico  —  Mesilla  Park. 
New  York  —  State  Station  :    Geneva. 

Cornell  Station :  Lthaca. 
North  Carolina  —  Raleigh. 
North  Dakota  —  Agricultural  College. 
Ohio —  JVooster. 
Oklahoma  —  Stilhvater. 
Oregon  —  Corvallis. 
Pennsylvania  —  State  College. 
Rhode  Island  —  Kingston. 
South  Carolina  —  Clemson  College. 
South  Dakota  —  Brookings. 
Tennessee  —  Knoxville. 
Texas —  College  Station. 
Utah  —  Logan. 
Vermont  —  Burlington. 
Virginia  —  Blacksburg. 
Washington  —  Pullman. 
West  Virginia  —  Morgantown. 
Wisconsin  —  Madison. 
Wyoming  —  Laramie. 


INDEX 


[A  word-list  with  definitions  is  not  considered  necessary  for  this  book.  The 
pronunciation  and  definition  of  unusual  and  technical  words  are  given  in  the  text 
when  first  used ;  when  it  is  desired  to  refer  to  any  of  these,  they  may  be  found  by 
means  of  the  index.] 


acid  phosphate 305 

air  in  soil        ...     23,  27,  70,  87,  93 

alcohol,  commercial 141 

alfalfa 108,  120,  1^6,  138 

alkali  lands 20,  85,  86 

alluvial  soil 14,  16 

aluminium 3o>  31 

ambrosia  artemisiae  folia      .     .     .     194 

animals,  domestic 235 

breeds  of 237 

care  of 236 

feeding 243 

annuals 44,  186,  194 

antennae 209 

anther 43 

apple .     167 

Arbor  Day 286 

arid  region      . 90 

soil 92 

ashes 118,133,305 

asparagus 180 

atmosphere 10 

Babcock  milk-tester 250 

bacteria,  31,  41,  55,  83,  87,  no,  200,  249, 

25 1 

balanced  ration        242,  243 

Baltimore  oriole 227 

barley    ........     151,     299 

beans 70,    138,  180 

bee 221,  274 

breeds 274 

hives        ,     .     .     276 

beef  breeds 247 

beekeeping 275 


beetle 214 

Colorado  potato 214 

ground 222 

ladybird .     222 

tiger 222 

Bermuda  grass 134,  135 

biennials 44,  47,  195,  196 

birds 224 

food  of 224 

harmful 229 

useful 225 

blackberry 182 

blackbird,  red- winged       .     .     .     .     228 

blight 199,  200,  205 

bluebird 227 

bluegrass 56,  I34 

bluestone 206 

bobolink 228 

Bordeaux  mixture  ....       207,  307 

botanical  names 194 

breeders,  plant 74 

breeding  wheat 150 

breeds 237 

of  bees 274 

of  cattle 245 

of  goats 262 

of  hens 268,  273 

of  hogs 264,  267 

of  horses 255,  256* 

of  sheep       .......     260 

brooder 274 

budding 60,  169,  170 

bud  reproduction 58 

bug,  chinch    .....     216,  218,  219 
bulb 50,  178,  187 


313 


314 


INDEX 


Burbank,  Luther 75,  185 

bush  fruits 182 

business  methods 131 

butter 250 

breeds 247 

making 250 

butterfly     .     .     .     ...     .     .     .     210 

by-products 117,  133 

cabbage 49,  180 

calcium 30,  32,  119 

California  poppy 185 

calyx 42 

cambium 41,  48 

capillarity 23,  24,  38 

capillary  attraction 23 

carbohydrates     .  238,  240,  241,  242,  244 

«^arbon 31,  40,  54 

dioxide 27,  31,  39 

carbonaceous  foods      ....  240,  243 

carrot,  wild 196 

catbird 228 

caterpillar 211 

cattle 245 

beef  breeds 247 

care  of 250 

dairy  breeds 247 

food 250 

general-purpose  breeds       .     .     248 

'scrub'  breeds 248 

celery 179 

cells 41,  200 

cereals 48,  140 

checkrein 257 

cherry 168 

chickadee 227 

China 193 

chinch  bug 216,218,219 

chlorine 30,  32 

chlorophyl      .  *  .      39,  40,  45,  49,  50,  199 

cholera,  chicken 272 

hog .     266 

chrysanthemum  leucanthemum      .     197 

churning .     250 

citrange 168 

citrus  family        167 

clay,     17,  18,  19,  23,  24,  27,  56,  84,   87 

climate 28,  129 

clover    .     .     .      105,  107,  108,  no,  137 
crimson  .     .     .     103,  in,  136,  137 


clover,  red 136,  138 

codling  moth 211,  223 

Colorado  potato  beetle     .     .     .     .     214 
commercial  fertilizers;  see  fertilizers 

composting  manure 114 

copper  sulphate        ....       206,  306 
corn      ....     48,50,66,71,135,140 

cultivatiorf  of 142 

fertilizing 143 

forage 141,  142 

seed  selection 145 

sweet 180 

corolla 42 

cotton 35,  44,  50,  loi,  153 

as  one  crop loi 

in  rotation 102 

range  and  cultivation     .     ._    .     154 

sea  island 156 

seed  selection  .     .     ."   .     .     .     157 

upland 156 

uses  of 153 

weevil 157 

wilt 157 

cover  crop 106,  108 

cow;    see  cattle 

cowpeas     .     .  66,  102,  105,  108,  136,  137 

cream 249 

crop  plants,  families  of     .     .       126,  127 

raising 127 

rotation  100,  116,  144,  149,  156,  163, 

177,  193,  219 

examples  of 107 

principles  of 104 

crops,  green 108 

cross 74 

crow 229 

cuckoo        225 

cultivation,  purposes  of    ...     .  97 

deep  and  shallow      ....  98 

effects  of      ....'...  74 

flat  and  ridge 98 

time  of    .......     .  98 

see    corn,    cotton,    tillage,    tobacco, 
wheat 

cultural  methods 218 

curculio 220 

cuttings 59 

dormant 59 

green 60 

cutworms 212,  219 


INDEX 


315 


dairy  breeds  . 247 

products 248 

daisy 197 

damsel  fly 222 

daucus  carota 196 

Department  of  Agriculture  .     .     .     299 

publications  of 300 

ditches       88 

hillside 89 

docking 258 

dormant  cuttings 59 

draft  horses 254,  255 

dragon  fly 222,   223 

drainage 25,  86,  90 

benefits  of 87 

methods  of 87 

drains 88 

drift  soil I4>  16 

drone 275 

ducks 269 

egg  breeds 268 

elements  .  29,  32,  37,  39,  54,  55,  56,  115 
available  forms  for  plants,     31,  115 

compound 31 

forms  unavailable  for  plants    .       56 

metallic,  of  soil 30 

necessary  to  plants  ....  54 
non-metallic,  of  soil  ....       30 

evaporation 24,  25,  94,  98 

families  of  crop  plants .     .     .     .  126,  127 

farm  tools 287 

care  of 292 

profits  from  use  of    .'    .     .     .     289 

fats 238,  240 

feeding  standards    ....       242,  309 

stock,  rules  for 243 

feeds 241 

nutrients  in 309 

fermentation 114 

fertility 16,  81 

fertilization,  plant 43 

fertilizers 115 

analysis  of 121 

cost  of 121 

mixing 120,  305 

rules  for  use 116 

testing 120 

fiber  materials 153 


filament 43 

fire  blight 200 

flax 157 

flower,  parts  of 42 

annual 186 

garden 184 

perennial 187 

perfect  and  imperfect    ...       50 

fly,  damsel 222 

dragon 222,  223 

ichneumon 222,  223 

tachina 222 

food  assimilation 238 

kinds  of 241 

plant ;   see  plant  food 

uses  of 238 

foot  rot 261 

forage    ..'...     133,  140,  141,  241 

crops 83,  133 

uses  of 133 

forest,  benefits  of 280 

enemies  of 282 

forestry  284 

forests,  national 281 

formalin 204, 208, 307 

fowls,  care  of 273 

diseases  of 272 

fruit  trees;  sqq  budding,  grafting,  orchard 

fungi    ....     12,  199,  200,  205,  206 

how  to  destroy      .     .     .      205,  206 

fungicides 206 

fungous  diseases      ....       198,  207 

how  to  prevent 205 

fungus 199,  201 

garden,  flower 184 

school 301 

vegetable 176 

geese 270 

germ 36 

food 36,  53 

girdling 48 

glacier 14 

goats 262 

breeds  of 262 

food  of 263 

grade  stock 237 

grafting 60,  169,  170 

wax 169 

grain 140 


3i6 


INDEX 


grapes 182 

grass,  Bermuda 134,  135 

blue 56,  134 

family .  126,  127 

grasses 134 

gravity 23 

guano 116 

guinea  fowls 270 

hand  pollination 51,  150 

harrow 97 

hay 133,  134 

curing 139 

heating 114 

hens 268 

egg  breeds  of 268 

general-purpose  breeds  of  .     .     269 

meat  breeds  of 269 

herbs 180 

heredity 73,  74 

hogs 264 

American  breeds  of  ...     .     264 

diseases  of 266 

English  breeds  of      ....     264 

feeding 265 

horses 254 

care  of 256 

docking 258 

draft 254,  255 

feeding 256 

light  or  roadsters  ....  254,  255 

shoeing 257 

host 200,  201,  205 

hotbed .112,  184 

humus       .  18,  56,  82,  83,  84,  loi,  108 

hurdle 266,  267 

hybrid 74 

hybridizing 74 

hydrogen   .     .     .     .     .     .    30,31,39,54 

ichneumon  fly 222,  223 

imago 209,  210 

incubator 274 

inoculatiofi  against  tick  fever    .     .     253 

of  soil no 

insecticides 219 

insects,  chewing 219 

cultural  methods  against    .     .     218 

enemies 106,  208,  221 

friends 221 


insects,  injuries  from 208 

life,  stages  of 209,  210 

parts  of 209 

pollination  by 51,  221 

sucking 220 

iron .     .    30,  32,  39 

irrigation 25,  90 

kainit 118,121,305 

kerosene  emulsion 308 

King  road  system 297 

labor 129,  130 

ladybird  beetles 222 

landscape  gardening 304 

larva 209 

larvae 210 

layering 58 

leaf 39,  40,  49 

legumes    55,  83,  105,  108,  117,  128,  136, 

i8o 

lemon 168 

lime 83,  119,  120 

limestone  soil 19,   56 

loam 19,  57,  85 

loco  weed 197 

lumbering 280,  284 

machinery 291 

see  tools 

magnesium 30 

manures 105 

green 108 

stable 112 

market 129 

crops        104,  129 

gardening 177 

meat  breeds 269 

melon  family 180 

Mexican  cotton  boll  weevil  .     .     .     215 

milk 249,  251 

milk  vessels,  care  of 251 

moisture  requirements  of  crops      .     129 

molt 210 

moth 211 

codling 211 

mulch 64 

soil      ...     25,  27,  92,  93,  97,  98 

mules 256 

muriate  of  potash    .     .     .     118,121,305 


INDEX 


317 


nitrates 55,  83,  117,  305 

nitrogen    30,  31,  32,  39,  55,  83,  105,  no, 
114,  115,  117,  122 

pure  culture  of in 

nitrogen-gathering  crops  .     .     .105,110 

nutrients         309 

nutritive  ratio 251,  270 

nymphs 210 

oats 71,  151 

okra 180 

one-crop  system 100,  loi 

onion 178,  179 

orange 168 

orchard 166 

cultivation .     172 

fertilizing 173 

location 170 

pruning 174 

selection  of  varieties  for     .     .     171 

spraying  . 173 

thinning  fruit  in 174 

oriole,  Baltimore 227 

osmosis 38 

outbuildings 292 

ovary 43 

ovules 43 

oxygen  .     .     .25,  27,  30,  31,  39,  40,  54 

Paris  green 214,  307 

pasture  grasses 134 

pasturing  cattle 244 

peach 167,  170 

peafowls 270 

peanuts 138 

pear 167,  170 

peas no 

Canada  field 138 

cow    .     66,  102,  105,  108,  136,  137 

percolation 24 

perennials 44,  187,  196 

perfect  flowers 50 

petal 42 

phosphoric  acid     83,  115,  118,  122,  305 

phosphorus 30,  32,  83 

pistil 43,  50 

plant  breeding 74 

diseases  ...,,,..     199 
families  .,,,,,.  xa6,  127 


plant  food    30,  31,  32,  37,  39,  40,  54,  83, 

105,  115 

air-derived 39,  54 

necessary  elements  of     .     .     .    '  54 
soil-derived     .     .     .     .     37,  55 

plant  improvement 73>  75 

methods  of 74 

reproduction  from  buds  .       58 
reproduction  from  seeds  .       65 

planting,  depth  of 70 

soil,  conditions  for    ....       70 

time  of 71 

plants,  girdling 48 

parts  of 46 

strong-feeding 48 

weak-feeding 48 

plow 94,  287 

pan '96 

plowing 94,  219 

conditions  of  soil  for      ...       95 

depth  of 89,  90,  95 

for  drainage 88 

subsoil 96 

time  of 94 

plum 168 

plumcot 75 

poisons,  fungicides 206,  306 

insecticides 219,  307 

pollen 43,  74,  146 

pollen  bearing 50 

by  hand 51,  150 

by  insects    .     .     .     .     51,  221,  275 

by  wind 50 

pollination 51,  150 

ponies 256 

potash  .     .     .     .83,  n8,  122,  173,  305 

potassium 30,  32,  83 

potato,  sweet.     .      63,  65,  160,  177,  178 
white  60,  127,  160,  177,  178 

poultry 268 

care  of 271,  272,  273 

diseases 272 

food 270 

products 268 

primus  berry 75 

protein  ....  238,  240,  241,  242,  243 

protoplasm ,     -41,  200 

pruning I74 

publications    of    Department    of 

Agriculture    .    .    .    .    .    309 


3i8 


INDEX 


publications  of  State  Agricultural 

Experiment  Stations     .     .     300 

pupa 209,  210,  212,  216 

pure  bred 237 

purity  of  seeds 67 

quartz 17 

queen  bee 275 

ragweed 194 

rape , 136 

raspberry 181 

ration 242 

balanced      .     .     242,  243,  244,  245 
unbalanced ......  243,  245 

rice 26,  151 

ricebird 228 

roa<ds 293 

bad 293 

care  of 298 

drainage 296 

grade 294 

surface 296 

robin 228 

roller 97 

root  crops 107,  177 

root  hairs  .     .     .     .     .     .     .37,  38,  204 

rootlets 37 

roots,  37,  38,  46,  49,  62,  63,  64,  87,  93 

fibrous 47,  56,  105 

tap 37,  46,  105 

rose  family 126,  128 

roses •     .     •     187 

rot 202 

rotation  of  crops;    see  crop  rotation 

rust 201 

rye   .    .    i    .    . 151 

salt 118,  305 

sand 17,  18 

San  Jose  scale    .......     217 

sandy  soil  19,  23,  27,  56,  84,  87,  106,  112 

sap 38,39,40 

scab 262 

scale,  San  Jose  .     .     .     .     ^     ,     .     217 

school  garden     .     , 301 

grounds  .,.,.,..     304 

house 304 

science,  its  help  to  farmers  .     .     .     298 
scion,     .,....,,,.     169 


'scrub'  cattle 248 

hog s     .     .     .     267 

season  for  planting 71,130 

sedentary  soil 12,  16 

seed 35»  36,  43»  65 

cleaning 67 

home-grown 69 

impure 69 

planting 70 

plots 68 

purchasing 68 

purity 67 

selection  .     74,  75,  144,  150,  157,163 

in  field 66 

sowing 52,  192 

testing 70,  71 

vitaHty 67 

seedlings 65,  168,  169. 

selection 74 

see  seed 

sepal 42 

sheep 258 

care  of 258,  261 

diseases  of 261 

mutton  breeds 260 

wool  breeds 200 

silage 133,  241 

silicon .^o 

silo 133,  293 

small  fruits 181 

smut 202 

sodium 30 

soil 9,  129,  160 

classes  of 12 

composition  of 29 

deepening 96 

drainage 25,  86,  96 

fertile 31,  82 

fertuizing     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     115 

formation  of 9 

ideal 82 

improvement    ......       81 

inoculation .110 

irrigation 25,  90 

manuring     .......     112 

moisture 22 

.    mulch      .     .      25,  27,  92,  93,  97,.  98 

sterile •     •     •       31 

swamp .      20,85 

tem|)erature     .    .    .    .    .    .      ?§ 


INDEX 


319 


soil,  texture 18,  56,  83 

tillage 93 

ventilation 27 

water 23 

soiling  crops 133 

system 244 

sorghum 135,  165 

soy  bean 107,  138 

sparrow,  English 229 

sparrows 226 

spiracle 209,  220 

spores 200,  202,  205,  206 

spraying 173,  206, 220 

formulas 306 

stable  manure 112 

benefits  of 112 

composting 114 

sources  of  loss 113 

value  of 112 

stamen 43>  5° 

State  Agricultural  Experiment  Sta- 
tions       299 

stems,  prostrate 48 

upright 48 

stigma 43 

stock 169 

stock  raising 235 

profits  in 236 

strawberry 50,  182 

style 43 

subsoil 9,  82,  87,  92,  96 

subsoiling 96 

sugar  beets 165 

cane 164 

producing  plants 164 

sulphate  of  potash 118,305 

sulphur 30 

sulphuric  acid 118 

surplus  products 177 

swarm 276 

tachina  fly 222 

taproots 37,  46,  105 

terraces 89 

tester,  seed 70»  7^ 

thorax 209 

thoroughbred  horse 255 

tick  or  Texas  fever 252 

tile  drains 88 

tillage 93,193 


tillage,  benefits  of 93 

see  cultivation 

tobacco 65,  69,  104,  160 

cultivation  of 161 

fertilizing 163 

range  of 160 

seed  selection 163 

tomato 179 

tools 287 

care  of 292 

profits  from  use  of    ...     .  289 

transpiration        24 

transplanting      ....    62,  169,  172 

rules  for 63,  172 

transported  soil 12 

trap  crop  . 219 

tree  planting 285 

products 280 

trees 279 

benefits  of 280 

see  forests 

truck  farming 177 

tubercle 55,  "o 

tuberculosis 251 

turkeys 269 

variation 73 

vegetable  garden 176 

cultivation  of 176 

location  of 176 

value  of 176 

ventilation  of  soil 27 

vitality 67 

water  as  soil  maker 10 

transporter 13 

table 23 

uses  of 22,  40 

weeds 94,  106,  191 

annual i94 

biennial i95 

foreign 193 

harm  done  by 191 

how  to  destroy     .  •  .     .     .  192, 193 

native i93 

perennial 196 

seed,  sowing  of 192 

weevil 106 

Mexican  cotton  boll       .     .     .  215 

wheat 71,  107,  130,  146 


320 


INDEX 


wheat  breeding 150 

cultivation  of 147 

fertilizing 148 

seed  selection 150 

varieties 149 

wild  carrot 196 

wilt 106,  204,  205 


wind  as  soil  transporter   ....       13 

window  garden 302 

wood  ashes 118,  133,  305 

woodpeckers 226 

worker  bees .     275 

wren 227 


UNIVERSITY   OF    CALIFORNIA 
LIBRARY 

This  is  the  date  on  which  this 
book  was  charged  out. 

^m  hflB  OilTE. 


(80m-6,'lU 


fL.  ovz^qu 


216051 


-■  m'iPi^iv'^ 


